Claire Eccleston

Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale: Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties

To develop a reliable and valid dementia knowledge scale to address limitations of existing measures, support knowledge evaluation in diverse populations, and inform educational intervention development.

What should we know about dementia in the 21st Century? A Delphi consensus study

BackgroundEscalating numbers of people are experiencing dementia in many countries. With increasing consumer needs, there is anticipated growth in the numbers of people providing diagnostic evaluations, treatments, and care. Ensuring a consistent and contemporary understanding of dementia across all of these groups has become a critical issue. This study aimed to reach consensus among dementia experts from English speaking countries regarding essential and contemporary knowledge about dementia.MethodsAn online Delphi study was conducted to examine expert opinion concerning dementia knowledge with three rounds of data collection. A sample of dementia experts was selected by a panel of Australian experts, including a geriatrician and three professors of aged care. Purposive selection was initially undertaken with the sample expanded through snowballing. Dementia experts (N = 19) included geriatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, dementia advocates, and nurse academics from the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. In the first round, these participants provided open-ended responses to questions determining what comprised essential knowledge about dementia. In the second round, responses were summarised into 66 discrete statements that participants rated on the basis of importance. In the third round, a rank-ordered list of the 66 statements and a group median were provided and participants rated the statements again. The degree of consensus regarding importance ratings was determined by assessing median, interquartile range, and proportion of experts scoring above predetermined thresholds. Correlation scores were calculated for each statement after the final round to identify changes in statement scores.ResultsThe Delphi experts identified 36 statements about dementia that they considered essential to understanding the condition. Statements about care for a person experiencing dementia and their care giver represented the largest response category. Other statements, for which full or very high consensus was reached, related to dementia characteristics, symptoms and progression, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment and prevention.ConclusionsThese results summarise knowledge of dementia that is considered essential across expert representatives of key stakeholder groups from three countries. This information has implications for the delivery of care to people with the condition and the development of dementia education programs.

A new standard in dementia knowledge measurement: Comparative validation of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale and the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale.

To compare the psychometric performance of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) and the Alzheimers Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) when administered to a large international cohort before and after online dementia education.

Learning opportunities in a residential aged care facility: the role of supported placements for first-year nursing students.

The residential aged care sector is reportedly a less attractive career choice for nursing students than other sectors. Research shows that students are often fearful of working with residents with dementia when they are inadequately supported on clinical placements by aged care staff. Thirty first-year nursing students attended a 2-week placement in one of two Tasmanian aged care facilities as part of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre Teaching Aged Care Facilities Program, which aims to provide students with a quality aged care placement focusing on dementia palliation. Placement experience and dementia knowledge were evaluated through preplacement and postplacement questionnaires and weekly feedback meetings with mentors and students. Students had more positive attitudes related to aged care and higher dementia knowledge at the end of placement. Students described their interactions with residents with dementia and thought that the placement had increased their capacity to provide quality care to these residents. The findings indicate that residential aged care placements can be productive learning environments for novice nursing students.

Wicking teaching aged care facilities program: Innovative Practice:

This paper reports on the design of a program that aims to prototype teaching aged care facilities in Australia. Beginning in two Tasmanian residential aged care facilities, the intent of the program is to support large-scale inter-professional student clinical placements, positively influence students’ attitudes toward working in aged care and drive development of a high-performance culture capable of supporting evidence-based aged care practice. This is important in the context of aged care being perceived as an unattractive career choice for health professionals, reinforced by negative clinical placement experiences. The Teaching Aged Care Facilities Program features six stages configured around an action research/action learning method, with dementia being a key clinical focus.

TRANSFORMING KNOWLEDGE OF DEMENTIA THROUGH THE UNDERSTANDING OF DEMENTIA MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE (UDMOOC)

Background: Affordable and accessible evidence-based educational resources are needed to address persisting deficiencies in dementia literacy. The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (UD MOOC) was designed to meet the broad dementia educational needs of both health workers and family carers and is delivered as a free, 9 week on-line course focussed on the brain, pathophysiology, symptoms and care. This study examined the impact of the UDMOOC on dementia knowledge, a key component of dementia literacy. Methods: Dementia knowledge of participants was determined before and after completing the UD MOOC using the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS 2.0). This validated, reliable scale comprises 25 items considered important in understanding dementia and associated care needs. In addition to standard demographic parameters, data was collated on participant experience of dementia, including prior exposure to dementia education, and experience obtained in the workplace and/or as a family carer. Results: 1718 UDMOOC participants completed the DKAS 2.0 comprising a regional distribution of 81% Oceania, 8.2 % Americas, 7.2 % Europe, 2.3% Asia and less than 1% Africa. A significant improvement in dementia knowledge was evident following completion of the UDMOOC. Mean dementia knowledge score prior to undertaking the UDMOOC was 34.7 (+/- 9.12) out of a possible 50 and after undertaking the UDMOOC was 43.7 (+/-6.01). 22% achieved the target score of 46 prior to the UDMOOC while 78% achieved this target score after completing the UDMOOC. The improvements in dementia knowledge were evident in both health care worker and family carer groups irrespective of experience or educational background, suggesting the UDMOOC is an effective means of delivering dementia education to a wide cross section of participants. Conclusions: The UDMOOC is an effective means of improving dementia knowledge and will contribute to improving the dementia literacy of health care providers, people living with dementia, their families and the broader community globally. Given its relevance and accessibility, the UDMOOC is a valuable and widely applicable public health intervention.