Journal of Aging Science

Assessing the Need for Dementia Training in Assisted Living Facilities

Webinar on Global Summit on Geriatrics & Aging

December 02, 2021 | Webinar

Akshaya Parthasarathy

Mental Health professional and a Gerontologist

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Aging Sci

Abstract:

As the population ages, the prevalence of assisted living (AL) residents who live with dementia continues to rise. There is a growing need for a competent and committed direct care workforce that can deliver quality and comprehensive person-centered care. Improving education and training and developing support for AL staff to implement skills in context has the potential to transform the workforce to a dementia-capable, culturally competent workforce. High quality training and receptive organizational culture together can improve quality of care and jobs for AL staff. This study seeks to understand the level of knowledge of dementiarelated causes and characteristics, care needs, communication, engagement and health promotion activities. The study further assesses the organizational supports and perceived dementia-related training needs of AL staff. Using data from surveys administered at ten homes, preliminary results indicate that few staff members have not received much in the way of dementia-specific training and generally, AL staffs have relatively low dementia-specific knowledge. Higher scores on dementia care needs illustrate the instrumental focus of staff. Implications for workforce development, establishing best practices for organizational support and competency-based training development will be discussed. As an active measure for catering to the fundamental issue of under-appreciation of workforce leading to insufficient investment and lack of funding in primary care and Long Term Care services which acts as a detrimental factor in development and training of workforce, the recommended intervention looks at the possible opportunities and advantages of collaboration between Non-Profit Organizations and Corporate Social Responsibility as agents of change and health promotion.

Biography :

Akshaya Parthasarathy is a Community Mental Health professional and a Gerontologist with her first Master’s Degree in Masters of Arts in Social Work ( Specialization in Mental Health) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India and her second Master’s Degree in Masters of Arts in Gerontology from Georgia State University, USA. She has four years of work experience in the field of program management in Dementia Care and is a strong advocate against Ageism on multiple digital platforms.