Italian Dementia-Friendly Hospital Trial (IDENTITÀ): efficacy of a dementia care intervention for hospital staff

Abstract

Objectives

This study investigated the short-term impact and the retention of a dementia care intervention for healthcare staff working in an Italian acute hospital setting. Additionally, we identified the predictors of improvement across the intervention.

Method

Sixty-two healthcare staff from an Italian public hospital participated in a dementia care intervention consisting of 5 modules delivered in a 5-hour training program focusing on dementia management, knowledge, and care. A pre-test/post-test and six-months follow-up design was used to evaluate participants’ changes in knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in dementia.

Results

The intervention significantly improved healthcare staff’s dementia knowledge and confidence immediately after the end of the intervention. No significant changes were observed from post-test to follow-up, indicating retention of these outcomes over six months. Regarding attitude to dementia, we found an immediate improvement only in the Recognition of Personhood scale. Looking at the predictors of improvement, healthcare staff with lower levels of knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in dementia at pre-test were those who improved more following the intervention.

Conclusion

These findings provide further evidence that dementia care interventions are suitable initiatives to promote knowledge and skills required to manage the needs of people with dementia in an acute hospital setting.

Keywords:

• Cognitive impairment
• dementia
• training
• health care staff
• hospital
• dementia-friendly
• dementia and cognitive disorders
• health service use
• psychosocial interventions
• staffing

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the specialists who delivered the dementia care intervention modules and the hospital staff for volunteering their time and effort to take part in the study.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Piacenza e Vigevano.