Work stress and people with Down syndrome and dementia

This study aimed to assess how staff ratings of challenging behaviour for people with Down syndrome and dementia affected the self-reported well-being of care staff. Data were collected from 60 care staff in 5 day centres in a large city in England. The data were collected by use of a questionnaire. There was no significant difference between those who cared for individuals with Down syndrome and dementia and those caring for service users with other non-specified learning disabilities without dementia, regarding their self-reported well-being. Self-reported well-being did correlate with staff rating of challenging behaviour in both those who cared for people with Down syndrome and dementia and those who did not care for such service users, with well-being declining as perceived challenging behaviour increased. The findings indicate that challenging behaviour prevention and reduction may be of benefit to both service users and care staff well-being.