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Dementia care in Nepalese old age homes: Critical challenges as perceived by healthcare professionals
15th World Congress on DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
November 21, 2022 | Webinar
Soni Shrestha
Oslo Municipality, Norway
Keynote : J Clin Psychiatry Cog Psychol
Abstract:
Background: In Nepal, the number of older people with dementia is rapidly rising, and there is a need for knowledge of how to provide quality dementia care in OAHs. Aim: To explore and describe critical challenges in current dementia care practice as perceived by Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) in Old Age Homes (OAHs) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: An exploratory hermeneutic design, employing qualitative interviews with eleven HCPs caring for residents with dementia in a total of five OAHs. Findings: The analysis showed that HCPs found limited educational training in dementia-specific care to be a critical challenge leading to reduced quality in caregiving practice. Insufficient HCP competence in dementia-specific care undermined adequate coping with residents’ cognitive disturbances and the Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia (BPSD). Poor HCP/Medical Doctor (MD)-to-patient ratio was perceived as a critical challenge preventing proper diagnostic examination, treatment and dementia-specific care practice. Conclusions: Limited educational training, sparse competence in mastering residents’ cognitive disturbances and BPSD, and insufficient resources to ensure sufficient numbers of HCPs and MDs for proper diagnostic examination, treatment and dementia-specific care were identified as critical challenges restricting quality dementia care in these Nepalese OAHs. Implications for practice: The study findings indicate a need for a clear Nepalese policy and a national plan for dementia care in OAHs that includes strategies for HCP educational training and how to provide resources to ensure a sufficient workforce of HCPs and MDs for proper diagnostic examination, treatment and dementia-specific care.
Recent Publications :
1. Baker, Jonathan C et al. “Staff-administered functional analysis and treatment of aggression by an elder with dementia.” Journal of applied behavior analysis vol. 39,4 (2006): 469-74.
2. Brinkmann, S. (2012). Qualitative inquiry in everyday life: Working with everyday life materials. Sage Publications. doi:10.1901/ jaba.2006.80-05
3. Bruckner, Tim A et al. “The mental health workforce gap in low- and middle-income countries: a needs-based approach.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization vol. 89,3 (2011): 184-94. doi:10.2471/ BLT.10.082784
Biography:
Soni Shrestha has completed her medicine from Angeles University Foundation, Philippines. She worked as a medical doctor in Philippines and Nepal. She is a master graduate in Global Health from University of Bergen, Norway. She has recently published a scientific paper on Dementia care. Currently, she is working at Corona Test Station at Oslo Municipality, Norway as a Doctor/Shift leader.
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