Dementia in Residential Care: Education Intervention Trial

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Dementia in Residential Care Education
Intervention Trial Project Team Chris Beer
(Principle Investigator) Kelly Banz (Study
Coordinator) Nada Eltaiba (Social
Researcher) Jenny Tasker (Research Assistant)
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Design Overview of DIRECT
Input Educational Program
Outcome Quality of Life (primary)
Outcome Quality of Care (Secondary)
Clinicians. (GPs and RACF staff)
Residents
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Who is involved in the project?

• People With Dementia
• Carers
• RACF staff (managers, nurses, nurse aides)
• General Practitioners

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About the educational program

• The content of the program will be aspects of
  high quality dementia care
• Will be delivered to GPs who have patients in
  RCF, and RCF staff (for example, Nurses, Nurse
  aides, nursing managers)
• Intervention takes place over 12 months
• Possible delivery methods include multimedia or
  workshops

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More about the educational program

• The development of the educational package is
  through Action Research
• Stakeholder participation increases buy-in
• Our program aims to be cost effective and time
  effective, NOT resource intensive
• We think it will result in changed actions and
  attitudes

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About the Primary Outcome

• Measure quality of life of PWD, probably using
  ADRQL and brief structured environmental
  observations
• Also measure cognitive impairment, medication,
  etc
• Do these at baseline, 6mo, and 12 mo

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About the Secondary Outcome

• Measure GPs and RCF staffs satisfaction with
  their ability to delivery high quality dementia
  care at baseline and 12 months

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Study design

• There are three intervention groups and one
  control group

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Study timeline
Recruitment
Education
Assessment
now
24 months
6 months
12 months
18 months
Qualitative research
Qualitative research follow-up
Quantitative Research
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What does this study NOT address?

• Factors other than quality of care that affect
  quality of life
• Community based care
• Specialists (Geriatricians, etc)
• Non-dementia residents (eg, mild cognitive
  impairment)

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What is the project about?(Why are we doing it?)

• We want to improve the quality of life of
  dementia patients by translating high quality
  care in an Australian setting
• Our aim is to deliver education which addresses
  needs that have been directly identified by those
  who will receive it

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What is special about this research project
compared to others?

• By using quality of life as the end-point, we
  ensure that the educational program has a
  measurable impact on something important and
  sustainable.
• A qualitative research process gathering
  information from survey and focus group
  respondents BEFORE designing the package has not
  been used in Australian dementia education before.

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What are the potential benefits to RCFs and GPs
of participation?

• Long term training for improving quality of care
• Increased quality of life for patients
• Quantitative data for presentation to government
  and advocacy bodies for funding and other purposes

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What are the potential benefits? (contd)

• The action research/qualitative process ensures
  the education meets identified needs
• Because of the toolbox nature, education can be
  further tailored to each doctors/facilitys
  needs
• This is an intention-to-treat protocol, in
  other words, deals with the real world
• So, if our educational program is NOT easy to use
  and thus results in a small outcome, that is
  still useful data

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The role of GPs and RCFs in the study

• The role is three-fold
• Participation in the trial (5050 chance)
• Recruitment of patients
• Participation in the educational program
  development (optional but beneficial!)

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RCF and GP involvement in the qualitative
research process

• Three kinds of involvement
• Focus Groups
• Interviews
• Surveys

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What would make your participation easier?

• Please contact us with suggestions!

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And in Conclusion

• THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!!!