'Speaking about the unspeakable': Clinical psychologists views on the role of the profession regarding 'forced care' of older adults without capacity

How do family carers and care-home staff manage refusals when assisting a person with advanced dementia with their personal care?

Background and objectives

Caregivers may encounter, or inadvertently cause, refusals of care by a care recipient. Managing refusals of care can be challenging and have potential negative consequences. We aimed to examine caregivers’ (care-home staff and family carers) experiences of managing refusals of personal care in advanced dementia.

Research design and methods

One-to-one semi-structured interviews with 12 care assistants from six care homes and 20 family carers who were physically assisting a person with advanced dementia with their personal care in the UK. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, with data analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Findings

Core to the caregiver experience of refusals of care was knowing the person. This underpinned five key themes identified as caregivers’ strategies used in preventing or managing refusals of care: (1) finding the right moment to care; (2) using specific communication strategies; (3) being tactful: simplifying, leaving, or adapting care; (4) having confidence in care; and (5) seeking support from others when safety is at risk.

Discussion and implications

Different caregiver relationships with the person with dementia influenced how they managed refusals of care. Refusals of care can place caregivers in tough situations with tensions between providing care when it is seemingly not wanted and leaving care incomplete. Both caregiver groups require support such as coaching, mentoring and/or advice from other health and social care practitioners to manage difficult personal care interactions before crisis points occur.

Strategies to manage cognitive dissonance when experiencing resistiveness to care in people living with dementia: A qualitative study

AIMS

To explore the experiences of healthcare personnel when they face resistiveness to care in people living with dementia in nursing homes.

DESIGN

The study has a qualitative explorative design.

METHODS

Three focus group interviews were conducted in June 2019. A total of 16 nurses and other healthcare personnel employed in three different nursing homes participated. A semi-structured interview guide was used during the focus group interviews. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The analysis generated one overarching category-'Tension when facing resistiveness to care', which describes the discomfort healthcare personnel experienced when confronted with resistiveness to care in people with dementia-and two other categories: 'Attitude change' and 'Changing behaviour', which describes their strategies to reduce and/or manage the discomfort. Four subcategories-'Changing the mindset', Conceptual shift', Stepping back' and 'Not giving up'-described the actions taken by healthcare personnel to manage or reduce their cognitive dissonance.

CONCLUSION

The strategies used to manage or reduce cognitive dissonance provide a new understanding of how healthcare personnel choose to approach resistiveness to care in people living with dementia.

IMPACT

This study addresses cognitive dissonance, a discomfort experienced by healthcare personnel when facing resistiveness to care from people living with dementia. To reduce their dissonance, the participants employed several strategies, including coercive measures, when providing care. The theory of cognitive dissonance may help explain why healthcare personnel sometimes choose to employ coercive measures while providing care.