Abstract
Background
Prevalence of dementia is increasing, with more than half of aged care residents having
a dementia diagnosis in Australia. Aged care staff currently lack dementia-specific
knowledge and skills to care for residents with dementia.
Aim
To examine residential aged care staff perceptions of enablers and barriers to completing
dementia-specific education.
Methods
A purpose-designed cross-sectional survey of staff (n=179) from 36 of the 177 Victorian
public sector residential aged care facilities across metropolitan, regional, and
rural Victoria, Australia.
Findings
Staff were most commonly motivated to complete dementia-specific education by intrinsic
factors such as a desire to provide better care to residents, and to develop or improve
their skills. Availability of education online, readily accessible information about
education opportunities, workplace resources, and management support were key enablers.
Difficulty with access, lack of time, high workload, and lack of awareness were significant
barriers. Cost, location, and mode of delivery were cited as both enablers and barriers.
Discussion
Residential aged care staff require accessible education initiatives and workplace
support to facilitate their participation in dementia-specific education to provide
high quality, evidence-based care for people living with dementia.
Conclusion
Findings of this study can assist education providers, employers, and researchers
to better understand participation and inform strategies and processes to increase
uptake of dementia-specific education.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 30, 2022
Accepted:
January 12,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 14,
2021
Received:
June 9,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
