[Stigma and taboo in dementia care - does continuing education for GPs and nurses contribute to destigmatisation]

Abstract

One of the main reasons for deficits in the care of patients with dementia is the taboo on the disease and the stigma of the people suffering from the disease, also from the side of the professional caregivers. The aim of the project was to find out whether a continuing education program for GPs and for nurses in ambulatory care was able to increase the skills of professionals to better communicate with patients and relatives on the taboo topic of dementia. The program was developed with a multi-professional team and tested with 53 GPs and 54 nurses in ambulatory care. The evaluation was performed with a 39-item questionnaire administered before and after the training. Also, to test the stability of the outcomes, the same questionnaire was administered to the GPs after one year and after two months for the nurses. The process quality of the training was evaluated very positively in both groups. Outcome quality was also very positive. Many attitudes of the GPs changed in a positive way and this change was still present after one year. This was the case for their general attitude towards caring for people with dementia, their view on therapeutic possibilities, their willingness to support relatives, to refer them to the Alzheimer Society and to suggest to them participation in a self-help group. Results for the nurses pointed in the same direction. However, with regard to diagnosis disclosure and informing the patient, no effect of the training could be shown in the GP sample.