Anke Persoon

Nursing home residents and professional caregivers may engage in behaviors that, although not considered formal treatments for depression, can improve resi

Aim: This study is intended to generate insight into the knowledge possessed by formal caregivers in the Netherlands about care for people living with dementia. More specifically, it explores the association between the knowledge and characteristics of caregivers in nursing homes and home care. The formal caregivers included in this study served a variety of functions, primarily as nursing staff.Design: A quantitative retrospective cohort study.Methods: We analysed two datasets based on two Dementia Knowledge Monitors (DKMs): one for the nursing‐home setting (DKM‐NH; n = 5807) and one for the home‐care setting (DKM‐HC; n = 532). Total scores and subscale scores ranged from 0 to 100. Analyses were conducted at both the total level and the subscale level.Results: On average, nursing‐home caregivers scored 68.3 out of 100, as compared to 62.9 for home caregivers. Scores for nursing‐home caregivers were associated with age, function, educational training, region and experience (working in a specialised dementia department, private experience and years of working in a nursing home). Scores for home caregivers were associated with function, age and the number of PwD for whom they had provided care.Conclusion: Knowledge of dementia care leaves room for improvement for formal caregivers in all functions, in both nursing‐home and home‐care settings. Professional function, experience with dementia and previous extra training have a significant impact on a caregiver's level of knowledge concerning dementia care.Public Contribution: Offering educational programmes to caregivers could increase dementia‐care knowledge. Additionally, caregiver experience in caring for PwD could potentially be optimised through short internships, shadowing and staff retention. Future research should explore valid, effective and attractive educational programmes for the various functional groups, in addition to identifying strategies for accelerating the process of acquiring experience in care for people with dementia.

Interprofessional collaboration became more firmly positioned after the WHO highlighted its importance for better healthcare outcomes. In nursing homes, interprofessional collaboration refers to collaboration between teams of physicians/allied health professionals and care teams. Collaboration within care teams is known as intraprofessional collaboration. Determinants of interprofessional and intraprofessional collaboration have yet to be explored within the nursing-home context. Our exploratory qualitative study focused on the determinants considered important by professionals in seven nursing homes. We conducted 14 one-on-one, semistructured interviews with nurses and collaborating physicians/allied health professionals from seven teams of one care organisation. Data were analysed on thematic analysis, proceeding from an inductive approach. Five interacting determinants were identified. The core determinant was ‘investing in each other’, followed by ‘roles, functions and responsibilities within care teams’; ‘written policies for individual residents’; ‘verbal coordination meetings’; and ‘organisational influences’. One notable finding is the influence of intraprofessional collaboration within the care team on all determinants of interprofessional collaboration, including the role of the coordinating nurse. Future ethnographic and action research on intraprofessional collaboration is needed, including the perspective of nurse assistants, as well as on interventions aimed at improving interprofessional collaboration. We recommend training professionals to invest in each other as a skill that encourages relationships.

Background: Implementation of evidence‐based practice (EBP) in nursing homes is important to improve quality of care and reduce costs. These facilities primarily employ certified nurse assistants (CNAs) and vocationally‐trained registered nurses (VTRNs). Although EBP is scarcely addressed in their education, these caregivers have an important role in EBP. Insight into their affinity with EBP could provide a good starting point for working according to EBP.Aims: To develop a questionnaire that measures affinity with EBP amongst CNAs and VTRNs in nursing homes. To assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Design: Mixed‐method design according to the COSMIN‐checklist.Methods: Phase 1: the questionnaire was developed in three steps: (1) gathering items from existing questionnaires, occupational profiles and interviews; (2) compression through consensus rounds and (3) a pilot study.Phase 2: psychometric properties were assessed amongst CNAs and VTRNs in nine nursing homes. The factors extracted through principal component analysis were tested for measurement invariance using the one‐parameter Rasch model.Results: Phase 1: all experts interviewed (N = 5) indicated CNAs and VTRNs can play specific and significant roles in EBP. A 26‐item questionnaire was created through two consensus rounds with experts (N = 7) and a pilot study (N = 7).Phase 2: Principal component analysis revealed a two‐factor structure with good internal reliability (N = 428 questionnaires). All items exhibited good fit with the Rasch model and measurement invariance for CNAs and VTRNs.Conclusion: CNAs and VTRNs can fulfil important roles in EBP in nursing homes. The ‘Evidence‐Based Practice‐Affinity Questionnaire’ is reliable and valid for assessing affinity with EBP amongst CNAs and VTRNs to improve practice and research, and can guide tailored training programs for CNAs and VTRNs, enhancing evidence‐based practices in nursing homes.Impact: The research provides insight into the roles CNAs and VTRNs can play in EBP and how to measure their affinity with EBP, which contributes to implementation of EBP in nursing homes.Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution in the study.

The greatest shortages in the nursing discipline are expected in nursing homes. Although job satisfaction is an important factor in the retention of Bachelor’s-level nurses (BNs), little is known about the relationship between the BN roles that are performed on a daily basis and job satisfaction. A cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire study was conducted which was based on a convenience sample. The extent of performing seven BN roles was assessed by a self-developed questionnaire. Satisfaction was investigated at three levels: satisfaction with the BN role performance, satisfaction with the work packet (the combination of all roles performed) and satisfaction with job function (all things considered). Respondents (N = 78) were satisfied with the performance of all BN roles (range 3.71–4.42), generally satisfied with the work packet (M = 3.96; SD = 0.96) and neutral about the job function (M = 3.15; SD = 1.12). Not one single BN role correlated with job satisfaction, and the work packet (as a combination of all roles) was significantly related to job satisfaction (r = 0.551; p = 0.000). Four BN roles correlated significantly with satisfaction with the work packet, of which one was meaningful, the role of reflective Evidence-Based Practice professional (r = 0.476; p = 0.000), and three roles related less strongly: the roles of Organiser (r = 0.364; p = 0.001), Communicator (r = 0.224; p = 0.049), and Professional and Quality Enhancer (r = 0.261; p = 0.021). It is important for nurses to create interesting packets of BN roles for themselves. For nurses and care managers, it is essential to create interesting BN descriptions, with highly recognisable BN roles in the work packet, and to stimulate a work environment in order to enhance job satisfaction.

While eHealth can help improve outcomes for older patients receiving geriatric rehabilitation, the implementation and integration of eHealth is often complex and time-consuming. To use eHealth effectively in geriatric rehabilitation, it is essential to understand the experiences and needs of healthcare professionals. In this international multicentre cross-sectional study, we used a web-based survey to explore the use, benefits, feasibility and usability of eHealth in geriatric rehabilitation settings, together with the needs of working healthcare professionals. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize quantitative findings. The survey was completed by 513 healthcare professionals from 16 countries. Over half had experience with eHealth, although very few (52 of 263 = 20%) integrated eHealth into daily practice. Important barriers to the use or implementation of eHealth included insufficient resources, lack of an organization-wide implementation strategy and lack of knowledge. Professionals felt that eHealth is more complex for patients than for themselves, and also expressed a need for reliable information concerning available eHealth interventions and their applications. While eHealth has clear benefits, important barriers hinder successful implementation and integration into healthcare. Tailored implementation strategies and reliable information on effective eHealth applications are needed to overcome these barriers.

Aim: The aim of this study was to gain insight into nurses' perspectives on the shift‐to‐shift handover in relation to providing Person‐centred care (PCC) in nursing homes.Background: PCC is perceived as the gold standard for nursing home care. To preserve the continuity of PCC, an adequate handover during the nurses' shift change is essential. There is, however, little empirical evidence for what constitutes best shift‐to‐shift nursing handover practices in nursing homes.Design: An exploratory qualitative descriptive study.Methods: Nine nurses were selected purposively and through snowball sampling from five Dutch nursing homes. Semi‐structured face‐to‐face and telephone interviews were conducted. Analysis relied on Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis.Results: Four main themes were identified related to enabling PCC informed handovers: (1) knowing the resident to be enable to provide PCC was key, (2) the actual handover, (3) additional ways of information transfer and (4) nurses' knowledge of the resident prior to start shift.Conclusion: The shift‐to‐shift handover is one way that nurses become informed about residents. Knowing the resident is essential to enable PCC. The fundamental underlying question is to what extent nurses have to know the resident in order to enable PCC. Once that level of detail has been established, in‐depth research is needed to determine the best method for conveying this information to all nurses. Only then can we start to rethink the role of the shift‐to‐shift handover in conveying PCC‐driven information.No Patient or Public Contribution.

Aims and objectives: This study aimed to gain insight into the experiences and needs of certified nursing assistants regarding their coaching by bachelor-educated registered nurses in nursing homes.Background: Certified nursing assistants are key in providing day-to-day nursing home care. They are, however, not trained to meet the increasingly complex needs of nursing home residents. For certified nursing assistants to respond to high-complexity care, coaching by bachelor-educated registered nurses may be appropriate. Yet, knowledge of how bachelor-educated registered nurses can provide valid coaching is lacking.Design: An explorative qualitative design was adopted.Methods: Certified nursing assistants (n = 13) were purposively selected from 10 Dutch nursing homes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2020 and 2021, and thematic analysis was applied.Results: Two main themes emerged: connecting with certified nursing assistants, and the coaching activities themselves. Certified nursing assistants deemed several aspects important for bachelor-educated registered nurses to connect with them: respecting the autonomy of certified nursing assistants, being visible and reachable, adapting communication, clarifying own job description, and participating in care. Certified nursing assistants perceived coaching by bachelor-educated registered nurses as valuable when they fulfil their needs through activities such as empowering, teaching, and mediating between management and certified nursing assistants.Conclusions: Valid coaching of certified nursing assistants appears possible and requires specific competencies of bachelor-educated registered nurses.Relevance to clinical practice: Coaching certified nursing assistants is one way of addressing complex care needs in nursing homes, and coaching can contribute to both professional and team development. As coaching requires specific competencies of bachelor-educated registered nurses, nursing education profiles should be enriched with this most important role. Management can facilitate coaching by providing bachelor-educated registered nurses with a clear job description.Patient or public contribution: Experts on coaching in nursing home settings informed the topic list. Furthermore, member check was performed.

Conceptualize successful treatment of persons with dementia and severe challenging behavior as perceived by professionals.In this concept mapping study 82 experts in dementia care participated. The...

Background: Nursing home care is undergoing significant changes. This requires innovative teams operating in an effective workplace culture characterized by person-centeredness and offering evidence-based care. A pivotal role for bachelor- and master-educated nurses (BNs/MNs) is foreseen to facilitate such cultures; however, there is currently no comprehensive overview of what competencies this requires. Objectives: To identify what competencies are required from BNs/MNs in facilitating the development of an effective workplace culture in nursing homes. Methods and design: We conducted an integrative review (IR) using Whittemore and Knafl’s method. We searched the PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases for studies published between January 2010 and December 2021 in English. Two independent reviewers determined whether studies met inclusion: bachelor- or master-educated nurse; nursing home; professional competencies; and mixed methods or qualitative and qualitative studies. We applied the CASP appraisal tool and analyzed the data by applying content analysis. Results: Sixteen articles were included. Five themes were identified representing required competencies for BNs/MNs facilitating: (1) learning cultures in nursing practice; (2) effective work relationships within teams; (3) leadership capability within teams; (4) implementation of guidelines, standards, and protocols; (5) a work environment acknowledging grief and loss of residents within teams. Conclusions: It shows that the BN/MN applies five competencies associated with a facilitator role to promote the development of an effective workplace culture to achieve a safe, high-level quality of care, satisfaction, and well-being. An overarching leadership as a change champion will support teams to achieve a quality that should guide the transformation in nursing care.