Factors affecting communication between healthcare staff and family caregivers in dementia care

Background: Communication is key to expressing oneself and, in healthcare, communication may be compromised due to different limitations. In dementia care, relatives often take on the role of caregivers for their loved one and thereby adopt a role of advocacy. With this role communication with healthcare staff becomes a necessity. However, certain factors affect the way communication is perceived. Since nurses in Sweden have laws and ethical codes as well as a description of competence to follow to ensure that health is promoted and good care given, the knowledge of communication factors is a necessity. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the factors affecting the communication between healthcare staff and caregivers in dementia care. Method: The chosen method was literature review and nine scientific articles from 2012-2022 were analysed. Results: The analysis resulted in the following themes and subthemes: Affected perception with the subthemes Frustration, stress and concern, Language barriers.Staff qualifications and commitment with the subthemes Lack of competence, Inadequate information, Staff presence and display of interest. Availability with the subthemes Support and correct information, Teamwork, Cooperation and participation and Good competence. Conclusion: The results showed that communication with caregivers was affected by lack of staff and knowledge in dementia care. When staff were unavailable, caregivers experienced that they were left out and kept uninformed. This caused them to feel frustrated and stressed and affected their communication skills. To prevent this, staff need to gain more knowledge in dementia care, should make themselves available and be able to provide accurate and timelyinformation.