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. 2017 Sep 11;17(1):211.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0612-3.

Meeting psychosocial needs for persons with dementia in home care services - a qualitative study of different perceptions and practices among health care providers

Anette Hansen  1 , Solveig Hauge  2 , Ådel Bergland  3
Affiliations

Meeting psychosocial needs for persons with dementia in home care services - a qualitative study of different perceptions and practices among health care providers

Anette Hansen et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: The majority of persons with dementia are home-dwelling. To enable these persons to stay in their own homes as long as possible, a holistic, individual and flexible care is recommended. Despite a requirement for meeting psychological, social and physical needs, home care services seem to focus on patients' physical needs. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore how the psychosocial needs of home-dwelling, older persons with dementia were perceived, emphasized and met by home care services.

Methods: A descriptive, qualitative approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured focus group interviews with 24 health care providers in home care services from four municipalities. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation.

Results: This study showed major differences in how health care providers perceived the psychosocial needs of older home-dwelling persons with dementia and how they perceived their responsibilities for meeting those psychosocial needs. The differences in the health care providers' perceptions seemed to significantly influence the provided care. Three co-existing logics of care were identified: the physical need-oriented logic, the renouncement logic and the integrated logic.

Conclusions: The differences in how health care providers perceived the psychosocial needs of persons with dementia and their responsibilities for meeting those needs, influenced how the psychosocial needs were met. These differences indicates a need for a clarification of how psychosocial needs should be conceptualized and who should be responsible for meeting these needs. Further, increased competence and increased consciousness of psychosocial needs and how those needs can be met, are essential for delivering high-quality holistic care that enables persons with dementia to live in their own home for as long as possible.

Keywords: Dementia care; Focus group; Health services research; Holistic care; Home care services; Psychosocial; Qualitative research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

AH: PhD-student, RN.

SH: Professor, PhD, RN.

ÅB: Associate Professor, PhD, RN.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Approval for the study was gained from the Norwegian Social Sciences Data Service (project number 30997). To participate in the study was voluntary and the participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. The participants were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Written informed consent from the participants was obtained before data collection started.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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