An exploration of the use of life story work by nurses working with people with dementia in Scottish nursing care homes.

Abstract

Background Dementia is a worldwide public health challenge. The population of people living with dementia in Scotland is approximately 88,000 (Alzheimer Scotland 2014) and it is predicted that this figure will double by 2031 (Scottish Government 2013). Symptoms such as memory loss can distort a person with dementia's identity and communicative abilities. It is essential that nurses can deliver high standards of care to people with this disease and their families. Life story work can help health professionals to preserve the identity of the person with dementia, promote the delivery of person-centred care, enhance communication and relationships and help identify underlying triggers of challenging behaviour (McKeown et al. 2006; NICE 2006; Bruce and Schweitzer 2014). However, evidence suggests that life story work is poorly implemented in practice. Aims This proposed study is to explore nurses' use of life story work with people with dementia in Scottish nursing homes. The aims are to identify the knowledge and understanding nurses have on life story work with people with dementia and identify any benefits, limitations or barriers they have experienced using the intervention. This will determine whether further education on life story work is required to meet the learning needs of nurses. Methods This study will adopt a qualitative exploratory-descriptive approach using semi-structured interviews in the form of focus groups which will be audio-recorded. A combination of convenience, purposive and snowball sampling will be used to recruit registered and nonregistered nurses from nursing homes in Edinburgh which provide dementia care and implement life story work. Data collected will be analysed using thematic analysis.