Behavioral changes in migrants with dementia : Experiences of professional caregivers.

BACKGROUND: Professional caregivers take care of an increasing number of migrants with dementia who may show behavioral changes. OBJECTIVE: Insight into the experiences of professional caregivers concerning the care for people with a migration background who suffer from dementia and behavioral changes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 20 professional caregivers providing community and residential care. RESULTS: The caregivers' experiences focus on behavioral changes itself and on their efforts to offer person-centered care. Caregivers are aware of the mismatch between the cultural background of the client and their relatives and the professional care context. The different care perspectives of relatives and professionals sometimes result in conflict and poor collaboration. Over time, the reflections on experiences result in an awareness that more expertise and support is needed. CONCLUSION: Professional caregivers deserve support in their aim to provide high quality care for migrants with dementia and behavioral changes.

[Caring for confused community dwelling seniors]. / Zorgverlening aan thuiswonende ouderen met verward gedrag.

A qualitative research focused on contributing and obstructing factors for healthcare assistants in district nursing Older people with confused behavior have behavioral problems due to dementia, mental problems or social problems. For the Healthcare Assistant (HA) in district nursing, it is a daily challenge to care for older people with confused behavior. Aim of this research is to achieve an insight in the strategies the HA uses to deal with the daily care for older people with confused behavior. It is also the aim to have insight in factors which contribute to the daily care in a positive or negative way. Method: a qualitative explorative research. 17 HA's in district nursing participated in semi-structured interviews. All respondents had experience with caring for older people with confused behavior. The most important influencing factors are the experienced relationship between HA and the client and the experienced support by the team. Particularly behavioral problems due to mental problems can impede a relationship with the client. Further research is recommended to study the level of knowledge and competences of all levels of employees in district nursing.