Enhancing the consistency and range of non-pharmacological interventions recommended for people living with dementia in care homes exhibiting Behaviours that Challenge: A service evaluation

Vollständiger Abstract

Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit?

‘Behaviours that Challenge’ (BtC) describes how people communicate distress when unable to meet their needs independently. NICE (2018) guidelines for working with people with dementia recommend non-pharmacological interventions as first-line approaches. A 2021 service evaluation within an older adult mental health (OAMH) service found that most care home referrals for BtC resulted in documented recommendations for pharmacological interventions. In response, a BtC information pack was developed to support OAMH staff in taking a consistent approach when working with care home staff and to enhance care staff knowledge, confidence, and use of non-pharmacological interventions. The present service evaluation explored the impact of the information pack on OAMH staff’s clinical recommendations and documentation, compared with the 2021 evaluation. Findings indicated a reduction in the recording of pharmacological interventions and an increase in the recording of non-pharmacological interventions. This suggests that the information pack had a positive impact on practice and/or documentation. The evaluation emphasised the need to understand staff experiences of using the information pack and to identify how OAMH services can be supported to consistently recommend and document non-pharmacological interventions as first-line approaches in dementia care.