Cooper, C;
Rapaport, P;
Robertson, S;
Marston, L;
Barber, J;
Manela, M;
Livingston, G;
(2017)
Relationship between speaking English as a second language and agitation in people with dementia living in care homes: Results from the MARQUE (Managing Agitation and Raising Quality of life) English national care home survey.
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
10.1002/gps.4786.
Preview |
Text
Cooper_et_al-2017-International_Journal_of_Geriatric_Psychiatry.pdf - Published Version Download (145kB) | Preview |
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: As not speaking English as a first language may lead to increased difficulties in communication with staff and other residents, we (1) tested our primary hypotheses that care home residents with dementia speaking English as a second language experience more agitation and overall neuropsychiatric symptoms, and (2) explored qualitatively how staff consider that residents' language, ethnicity, and culture might impact on how they manage agitation. METHODS: We interviewed staff, residents with dementia, and their family carers from 86 care homes (2014–2015) about resident's neuropsychiatric symptoms, agitation, life quality, and dementia severity. We qualitatively interviewed 25 staff. RESULTS: Seventy-one out of 1420 (5%) of care home residents with dementia interviewed spoke English as a second language. After controlling for dementia severity, age, and sex, and accounting for care home and staff proxy clustering, speaking English as a second language compared with as a first language was associated with significantly higher Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (adjusted difference in means 8.3, 95% confidence interval 4.1 to 12.5) and Neuropsychiatric inventory scores (4.1, 0.65 to 7.5). Staff narratives described how linguistic and culturally isolating being in a care home where no residents or staff share your culture or language could be for people with dementia, and how this sometimes caused or worsened agitation. CONCLUSIONS: Considering a person with dementia's need to be understood when selecting a care home and developing technology resources to enable dementia-friendly translation services could be important strategies for reducing distress of people with dementia from minority ethnic groups who live in care homes.
Archive Staff Only
View Item |