Exploring communication challenges in dementia care: Insights from home healthcare nurses

Care for people living with dementia predominantly takes place at home and is often characterized by multiple hospitalizations throughout the lengthy disease trajectory. Care transitions from the hospital often involve home health care. The purpose of this study was to explore communication challenges experienced by home health nurses to inform communication training needs for home-based dementia care.

Seven audio-recorded focus group discussions were held with home health nurses (n = 31) from a large home care agency serving rural and urban counties. Focus group transcripts were thematically analyzed.

We identified the following themes highlighting communication challenges for home health nurses: addressing potential risk for harm or injury, patient vulnerability, care partner needs, shifting decision-making to surrogate, and discrepancy in home health goals and family needs. These themes identified specific care transition conversation topics and communication content imperative for dementia-specific staff training.

Topics for communication skills training to improve person-centered dementia care were identified. These findings inform the future development of a home health staff communication curriculum for dementia care. Advanced communication skills are necessary to ensure these conversations take place and are engaged with sensitivity.

Our study informs the development of communication training on key communication topics in nurse-delivered and home healthcare interventions aimed at improving dementia care.