Study: Many US dialysis providers may have limited knowledge about dementia care
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Key takeaways:
- Providers averaged a 17 score on the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale.
- Providers who reported receiving training had lower scores than those who did not.
Many dialysis care providers in the United States may have limited knowledge about dementia, according to a web-based survey.
“The interdisciplinary U.S. dialysis workforce primarily manages patients in free-standing outpatient facilities,” Alexis A. Bender, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the geriatrics and gerontology division at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, wrote with colleagues. “The complexity of care needs — physical, social and behavioral — among those with dementia accounts for disproportionate amounts of dialysis provider time. Therefore, it is important to aim for a welcoming workplace environment with consistent, engaged staffing.”
The mixed-methods study evaluated 1,121 respondents to understand clinician comfort, knowledge and training around dementia care. Providers included 81 physicians, 61 advanced practice providers, 230 nurse managers, 260 nurses, 202 social workers, 195 dietitians and 86 dialysis patient care technicians.
Researchers emailed National Kidney Foundation and National Association of Nephrology Technicians/Technologists listservs from Sept. 26, 2022, to Oct. 22, 2022. Investigators accounted for provider role, age, tenure, gender, dementia training and guidance awareness. They used the Dementia Knowledge Assessment to gauge knowledge on a zero-to-25 scale.
Dementia knowledge among U.S. dialysis providers was limited, according to the findings. Providers averaged a 17 score on the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale, even with 97% reporting knowing when patients had dementia and 62% having training. Those who reported receiving training had lower scores than those who did not.
While open-ended responses suggested providers find dementia in dialysis challenging, Bender and colleagues wrote, “qualitative findings indicate complexity among providers regarding comfort with and knowledge of treating patients with cognitive impairment.”
Moreover, the findings, “specifically who on the dialysis care team and what domains of dementia knowledge to target, can inform the development of quality improvement projects in the dialysis setting, as well as the development and implementation of dementia education and potential interventions tailored to the in-center hemodialysis setting that address the types and severity of dementia among people receiving dialysis,” they wrote.
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