Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Communication
• Virtual Reality in Education

Background:

• Frontline healthcare workers require effective communication strategies when supporting individuals with dementia.
• Person-centered communication (PCC) is crucial for optimizing the quality of care for persons living with dementia.
• The Be EPIC-VR program offers a novel, person-centered communication training approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Be EPIC-VR training program.
• To determine if Be EPIC-VR increases the use of person-centered communication (PCC) by frontline staff.
• To assess the impact of Be EPIC-VR on missed opportunities for PCC during care interactions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial comparing an immediate training group (N=26) with a wait-list control group (N=18).
• Participants engaged in pre- and post-training video-recorded interactions with a virtual dementia avatar.
• Communication data was analyzed for the frequency of PCC units (recognition, negotiation, facilitation, validation) and missed opportunities.

Main Results:

• A significant group-by-time interaction indicated that the immediate training group showed a significant increase in PCC post-training, unlike the control group.
• The immediate training group also demonstrated a significant decrease in missed opportunities for PCC.
• Combined analysis of all participants who completed Be EPIC-VR showed significant improvements in PCC and reductions in missed opportunities.

Conclusions:

• The Be EPIC-VR program effectively enhances person-centered communication skills among healthcare workers.
• Improved PCC is essential for optimizing the quality of care for individuals with dementia.
• Performance-based outcomes are important for assessing the effectiveness of person-centered care interventions.