Nurse`s experience of caring for patients with dementia : A literature-based study

Background: Today, 160,000 people with dementia live in Sweden. With increasing age, the risk of suffering from dementia is higher. Many of those who seek hospital care and other healthcare facilities have dementia in addition to other disorders. Caring for people with dementia demands that the nurse has the knowledge and skills required to be able to provide adequate and safe care. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe nurse´s experiences in taking care of patients with dementia disease. Method: A literature-based study was performed, analyzing ten qualitative articles Results: The results consist of two main themes with four subthemes each. The first theme is nurses experience of barriers to good dementia care with four subthemes, the organization as an obstacle, lack of time, lack of knowledge, education and experience, non-adapted care environment. The second main theme was nurse's experience with conditions to good dementia care with four sub-themes, working in teams, working person-centered, knowledge of dementia diseases and caring environment. These highlight nurses experience to care for people with dementia. Conclusion: To care for patients with dementia, according to the result, time and knowledge are mainly required. Working person-centered gives the patient quality of care. Building a relationship with the patient and learning how to interpret signals takes time but is necessary for good care and good working environment. Resources are needed from management in form of time, staffing and knowledge developmen