Improving access to dementia care for persons with an ethnic minority background by strengthening nurses’ cultural competence
Better dementia care starts with the care professional
The Netherlands is ageing, and the group of older people living with dementia is becoming increasingly diverse. Yet people with dementia from migrant backgrounds do not always find their way to appropriate care easily. In her research, doctoral candidate Gözde Duran shows that care professionals play an important role in this. If they learn to better connect with someone’s background, values, faith and network, access to good dementia care improves.
Duran investigated how dementia care can become more accessible for people from migrant backgrounds and their loved ones. Language and cultural differences, unfamiliarity with the care system and differing expectations around dementia can all stand in the way of appropriate support. “When suitable support is lacking, this can also place a heavy burden on informal carers and other relatives, who often play a major role in day-to-day care and support,” says Duran.
Care professionals also find that it is not always easy to connect well with people from different backgrounds. Assumptions can play a role here. For example, professionals may assume that someone from a migrant background would prefer to be supported by a care professional who speaks the same language or has a similar cultural background. Conversations with informal carers showed, however, that this is not a condition for good care. What matters more is that professionals show genuine interest, ask questions and check what the person themselves prefers.
If such assumptions are not discussed, they can even become a barrier to care. A professional may, for example, decide not to refer someone if no colleague with a similar background is available. “It is not about professionals knowing everything about someone’s culture, but about learning to test their assumptions by asking questions, listening and following up. We wanted to translate that into something practical.”
The Good Conversation Method
Based on a literature review, interviews with care professionals and informal carers, group discussions and a practice pilot, Duran developed the Good Conversation Method together with those involved. This practical tool helps care professionals talk about someone’s network, cultural and religious background, expectations and needs.
The method can be used directly in care practice, for example by practice nurses and dementia case managers, and can also be incorporated into the training of future care professionals. “Care professionals themselves also recognise that cultural skills are a valuable addition to person-centred care. By better connecting with someone’s story, background and loved ones, appropriate care becomes more accessible.”
More information on the thesis.