Care staff attitudes and perspectives of psychosocial interventions in dementia care

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to explore staff’s attitudes and experiences of psychosocial interventions in dementia care. It is presented as three separate papers: 1) a systematic review and meta-analyses examining the impact of psychosocial training on staff attitudes towards people living with dementia; 2) an empirical paper exploring the experiences of care staff in relation to formulation-led care as an approach to managing behaviour in dementia care and 3) a critical reflection of the research process. Paper one investigates the impact of psychosocial training on staff’s attitudes towards people living with dementia through a systematic review and meta-analyses. A comprehensive search of the published literature identified nine eligible studies. The quality of the studies included within the review is critically appraised during the synthesis and analysis of the data. Clinical implications, methodological limitations and recommendations in relation to future research are offered. Paper two offers an exploration of the experiences of dementia care staff in relation to formulation-led care. Interviews were conducted with 13 care staff from dementia care facilities within the North-West of England and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified across the data set relating to expectation, working together and understanding. The findings from the study are discussed in the context of previous research and clinical implications and directions for future research are provided. Paper 3 presents a critical reflection of the research including an evaluation of the design, implementation and designs of papers 1 and 2 and a discussion of personal reflections associated with the research process.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Richard Brown (Supervisor)