'You can't just put somebody in a situation with no armour'. An ethnographic exploration of the training and support needs of homecare workers caring for people living with dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Homecare workers carry out complex work with people living with dementia, while under-supported, undervalued and undertrained. In this ethnographic study, we explore the skills, training and support needs of homecare workers supporting people living with dementia.

Research design and methods

We conducted 82 interviews with people living with dementia (n = 11), family caregivers (n = 22), homecare staff (n = 30) and health and social care professionals (n = 19) and conducted 100-hours of participant observations with homecare workers (n = 16). We triangulated interview and observational findings and analysed data thematically.

Results

We developed four themes: 1) 'Navigating the homecare identity and role': describing chall

SUBMITTER: Leverton M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8678657 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature