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Abstract
Objectives: Simulation-based training has been used in health care to increase clinical knowledge and skills and understanding the experience of others. There is a lack of research in exploring experiences of caregivers of people with dementia in a dementia simulation program and its potential benefits on caregivers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore experiences of caregivers of people with dementia who participated in a dementia simulation program, called Dementia Live™.
Methods: Fourteen caregivers were interviewed after participation in DL, and thematic analysis using NVivo 11 software was used.
Results: Three themes emerged, including: (i) the Dementia Live™ as an eye-opening experience; (ii) the perceived benefits of the Dementia Live™ on themselves; and (iii) recommendation of the Dementia Live™ to other caregivers.
Conclusions: Dementia simulation programs such as the Dementia Live™ may help caregivers to have more empathy, understand better about the behaviors and feelings of people with dementia, and to use strategies that can help when working with people with dementia. Further experimental research is needed to examine effectiveness of the dementia simulation program on caregivers and people with dementia.
Acknowledgments
We appreciate the support of AGE-u-cate Training Institute for the research process. We thank Amber Richardson, Heather Stensgard, Talena Scott, and Melissa Vining (master’s level occupational therapy students at Texas Woman’s University) who helped with interviewing participants and running the Dementia Live™ program. We really appreciate all the study participants for their precious time and goodwill in volunteering for the present study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.