Assessment and Better Care Outcomes

Nursing Care of People with Dementia

Centre	Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre
Node	Nursing Care of People with Dementia
Project Title	Competencies in Dementia Care: Across Care Settings and Levels of Nursing Practice
Researchers	Associate Professor Victoria Traynor, Professor Patrick Crookes, Professor Lyn Chenoweth & Dr Yun-Hee Jeon
Description	The focus of the research project proposed here is to develop, implement, and evaluate, a competency framework for dementia care. The project proposed has five phases. Phase One is a literature review for which funds have already been requested from the Dementia CRC at University of New South Wales as part of the Best Practice in Dementia Nursing Node. This phase will commence in October 2006 and report back in April 2007. The literature review from Phase One of the project will be used to develop a research application for submission to a nationally competitive grant scheme. Below we provide an overview of the empirical phases of the proposed project which would become Phases Two to Five. The structure adopted to present this paper includes headings commonly used in grant submissions and it is our intent to build on this paper for a future submission to a nationally competitive funding body.
Completed	15/12/2007
Products	Literature review
Contact	Professor Lynn Chenoweth

Centre	Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre
Node	Nursing Care of People with Dementia
Project Title	Recruitment and Retention of nurses in Dementia/Aged Care
Researchers	Professor Lynn Chenoweth, Dr Yun-Hee Jeon, Associate Professor Victoria Traynor, Professor Patrick Crookes
Description	The National Nursing Workforce Survey has identified the high levels of dissatisfaction, turnover and staff stress associated with caring for the person with dementia in acute, community and residential care settings. The National Dementia Action Plan recognises these issues in regard to the nursing workforce, while also acknowledging the need for nurses to be skilled, responsive and in sufficient numbers to meet the care needs of this population. This project will explore the reasons why nurses and unlicensed care workers seek and stay in dementia/aged care and why they do not seek work or leave this area of care. These findings will inform a literature review of selected strategies that seek to redress the difficulties of recruiting and stemming the exodus of nurses in dementia/aged care across the health care continuum. It is our intention to build on this body of literature to develop future submissions to nationally competitive funding bodies to implement and test the efficacy of two selected strategies in attracting and retaining nurses and care staff to dementia/aged care.
Completed	30/11/2007
Products	Literature review
Contact	Professor Lynn Chenoweth

Centre	Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre
Node	Nursing Care of People with Dementia
Project Title	Strategies which recruit and retain dementia & aged care nurses in Australian health care settings
Researchers	Professor Lynn Chenoweth, Dr Yun-Hee Jeon, Associate Professor Victoria Traynor, Professor Patrick Crookes
Description	The study addresses a significant gap in knowledge – why Registered and Enrolled Nurses working in acute, community and residential dementia & aged care settings are attracted to and remain employed in these areas. The focus is on identifying what works for them and then to develop recommendations on the most important recruitment & retention strategies identified, which will be tested in a later study. A small body of Australian literature explains why dementia and aged care nurses leave, but not what attracts them and why they stay, and more importantly, the factors that inform these choices. Given the substantial current and predicted growth in service requirements in dementia/aged care, successful recruitment and retention strategies for suitably qualified nurses is essential.
Anticipated Completion	30/09/2009
Products	TBA
Contact	Professor Lynn Chenoweth