Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Emergency Medicine
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Emergency department (ED) disposition decisions significantly impact patient outcomes.
• Limited understanding exists regarding the participation of individuals with dementia and their care partners in ED disposition decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the participation of people with dementia and their care partners in ED disposition decisions.
• To understand the real-world unfolding of ED disposition conversations.
• To identify lessons learned regarding recruitment feasibility and acceptability for this population in the ED.

Main Methods:

• An ethnographic study using direct observation and semi-structured data collection.
• Recruitment of 20 patient and care partner dyads over 45 days.
• Inclusion of patient and public involvement, particularly a community advisor group.

Main Results:

• Presentation of lessons learned on recruitment feasibility and acceptability in the ED.
• Discussion of challenges in real-time screening and recruitment timing.
• Insights into ED-specific considerations for consent, capacity assessment, and caregiver consent.

Conclusions:

• Ethnographic methods provide rich, holistic data on the experiences of people with dementia and care partners in the ED.
• Findings offer insights applicable to other studies aiming to understand ED care for this population.
• Successful recruitment strategies were developed with community input, addressing practical nuances of the ED environment.