Nurses' experience of managing dementia-related behaviours- DeRB study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Nurses' experiences of managing care for patients with dementia-related behaviours: DeRB study.
IRAS ID
300739
Contact name
Reema D'Souza
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Brookes University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Dementia is a rapidly growing global healthcare concern with increasing in commonness due to the ageing population. About 850,000 people are affected by dementia in the UK, and 90% of dementia patients exhibit behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD) as the disease progresses. Various factors could trigger BPSD, especially disease progression, changes to the environment and other underlying illnesses, namely infections. In the hospital, apart from being ill, being in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by strange people, and disruption to the daily routine can all act as a catalyst to further aggravate BPSD. With considerable stress posed on the patient and family caregivers, these behaviours can be challenging to manage, significantly straining professional caregivers too.
This qualitative study explores nurses' experiences in managing patients with BPSD in acute hospital settings and considers the influence of nurses' experience on patient interaction and care delivery.
Four medical wards have been identified as research sites (two at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and two at Buckinghamshire Health Care Trust). The researcher will collect the data in two phases. The first phase will involve observing nurses' interaction with a patient with BPSD. Fifteen hours of observation will be undertaken across each ward over four weeks. The nursing care plan related to dementia care, explicitly nursing interventions in managing BPSD, of the observed patient will be reviewed during the observation visit.
The second phase of data collection includes interviewing about 20 nurses who were observed from all four wards. Patient data or patients' responses to the nurse will not be collected.
Data from observations, care plans and interviews will be analysed using the reflexive thematic data analysis method to gain insight into the culture of caring for people with BPSD in acute hospital settings. A report (thesis) will be produced.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EE/0129
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion