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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Psychological trauma and fear for personal safety as a result of behaviours that challenge in dementia
— the experiences of healthcare workers | | Author(s) | Ann Scott, Assumpta Ryan, Ian A James, Elizabeth Mitchell |
| Journal title | Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice, vol 10, no 2, May 2011 |
| Pages | pp 257-269 |
| Source | http://dem.sagepub.com/ |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Behaviour disorders ; Aggression ; Nursing homes ; Paid welfare workers ; Medical workers ; Employees ; Stress. |
| Annotation | The study aimed to document the experiences of healthcare workers of exposure to violence by service users with dementia. An exploratory study invited 96 nurses and 228 care assistants from nine care homes to complete a questionnaire. Among those who replied 68 respondents said they had been involved in an incident where they feared for their personal safety and 71.4% witnessed an incident where they feared for the safety of a colleague. Over the previous year 34% felt `very unsafe' and almost 18% felt `terrified'. Overall the study found that violent episodes against care home staff are not isolated incidents and dementia care staff lack the skills to cope with such aggression. Their reluctance to engage with aggressive residents compromises care. An increasing ageing population combined with prevalence rates for dementia will place greater demands on care homes. The authors argue that nationally agreed accredited qualifications for care assistants based on knowledge, skills and attitudes specific to dementia may raise the standard of care. Infrastructures to support assaulted staff may reduce feelings of isolation, assist with recruitment and retention problems and provide social support. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-111003011 A |
| Classmark | EA: EP: EPB: LHB: QP: QT: WK: QNH |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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