The experience of hospital staff in applying the Gentle Persuasive Approaches to dementia care.

INTRODUCTION: Hospital staff lacks knowledge and skills in dementia care. There is a need to understand how person-centered care theory can be operationalized in staff's practices to improve dementia care.

AIMS: To describe the staff's experiences of learning and applying the Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) to enact person-centered care in a hospital.

METHODS: Mixed methods, including posteducation survey and focus groups, were used. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes that describe participants' experiences.

RESULTS: 310 staff and leaders in a hospital participated in the GPA education and completed a posteducation survey (n=297). After one year, two follow-up focus groups were conducted with interdisciplinary staff (n=24) across medicine and mental health programs. Our analysis identified three themes to enable person-centered care: (1) changing attitudes, (2) changing practices, and (3) changing conditions.

DISCUSSION: This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of how an education program was implemented in a large Canadian hospital to build capacity for dementia care. Joint education for interprofessional staff offers value in enabling person-centered care.

IMPLICATION: Mental health nurses are in position to lead dementia education and advocate for person-centered care in hospitals. Staff need structural support to engage in team learning for practice improvement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.