The Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Provider Roundtable has awarded $250,000 in grant funding to Anju Paudel, PhD, RN, at Pennsylvania State University to fund research aimed at optimizing care interactions between assisted living staff members and residents living with dementia for better outcomes.
The study will examine the effectiveness of a new process and outcome measure known as QUALity of Interactions Inventory, or QUALII. The new tool aims to guide positive care interactions between assisted living staff members and residents and to evaluate the effects of those interactions.
The QUALII tool uses evidence-based strategic approaches in five domains:
- knowing the person,
- understanding communicative intention,
- personalizing the physical and social environment,
- using positive verbal strategies and
- using non-verbal approaches.
Care staff could review the interaction approaches in QUALII to ensure appropriation implementation of daily care interactions with residents.
Paudel said there is an “urgent” need to support quality relationships between staff and residents living with dementia, saying a lack of understanding of the interactions as a process can lead to poor interactions, affecting care delivery, treatment response and resident and staff satisfaction.
“Staff-resident interaction is a critical measure of high quality, person-centered dementia care,” she said in a statement. “Nearly 1 million residents living in assisted living communities have care interactions with staff daily. Our study is aimed at optimizing these interactions to improve care delivery, response to treatment and enhance resident and staff satisfaction.”
Approximately 42% of assisted living residents have diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those residents, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, are “especially at risk for poor care interactions related to ineffective staff approaches,” such as rapid talking, negative touching, and lack of verbal or nonverbal contact during care.
“Our study is aimed at developing strategies for optimizing care interactions in assisted living that will benefit both residents and staff,” Puadel said.
Launched in 2018, the AADCPR is a consortium of thought leaders from 30 organizations representing the long-term care continuum and working to advance care and support services for people with dementia and their caregivers. The group also adopted evidence-based Alzheimer’s Association dementia care practice recommendations.
