TITLE:
The effects of a patient-centred rehabilitation model of care targeting older adults with cognitive impairment on healthcare practitioners
AUTHORS:
Paula M. van Wyk, Steven Stewart, Katherine S. McGilton
KEYWORDS:
Hip Fracture; Cognitive Impairment; Rehabilitation; Patient-Centred; Attitudes; Job Satisfaction; Work Stress
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
17,
2014
ABSTRACT: Until recently, older adults with a cognitive
impairment (CI) who experienced a hip fracture were filtered from being
admitted into active rehabilitation units. The increased complexity of care
required for older adults with a CI may negatively influence the attitudes
and job satisfaction of healthcare practitioners working with this
population. The current study is a part of a larger intervention study
allowing patients with CI following a hip fracture access to rehabilitation
care and implementing a patient-centred model to facilitate caring for this new
population. This new model required a substantial change in the skillset and
knowledge of healthcare practitioners. The focus of this study was to explore
the impact on the healthcare practitioners of adopting this new model for
providing care to older adults with a CI following a hip fracture. The attitudes,
dementia knowledge, job satisfaction, and work stress of healthcare
practitioners were the focus of evaluation.
Key study findings showed that stress due to relationships with coworkers, workloads and scheduling, and the physical design and conditions at work were
moderated post-intervention. Staff responses also improved for job
satisfaction, biomedical knowledge of dementia, and degree of hopefulness about
dementia. Although we cannot state conclusively that the our model was solely
responsible for all the staff improvements observed post-intervention, our findings
provide further support to the argument that patients with CI should be allowed
access to rehabilitation care. Rehabilitation units need to provide education
that utilizes a person-centred approach accepting of patients with CI, and
focuses on areas that can bolster staff’s positive, dementia-sensitive
attitudes. Ultimately, the aim is to create a culture that provides the
highest standard of care for all patients, reduces work-related stress, increases job satisfaction, and leads to
the highest quality of life for patients during and after rehabilitation.