Dementia Care Training With Virtual Reality and Support for Home Care Staff

Evaluation of a Dementia Care Training With Virtual Reality and Support Program for Home Care Staff

This study aims to evaluate a dementia care training with virtual reality and peer support program on dementia care knowledge, attitude, care competence, work stress, and empathy of home care staff.

Home care staff often have insufficient knowledge and skills of caring people with dementia at home. Many lack empathy for those with dementia. Training courses for home care staff often are not developed according to their educational background and workplace needs.

This two-group cluster randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate a dementia care training with virtual reality and peer support program on dementia care knowledge, attitude, care competence, work stress, and empathy of home care staff.

The dementia care training consists of dementia care e-books, dementia virtual reality activity and peer support program.

The interventional group will receive a dementia care training using dementia care e-books, dementia virtual reality activity and peer support program.

The control group will only receive dementia care e-books and peer support with no dementia virtual reality activity.

Both groups will be assessed for their dementia care knowledge, attitudes, care competence, work stress and empathy at baseline, month 3, and 6.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 20 to 65 years
• Taiwanese nationality
• had worked as a home care staff for at least three months
• had experience in providing home care for patients with dementia
• had a mobile phone or tablet and regular access to the internet

Exclusion Criteria:

• Home care staff who do not meet the inclusion criteria
• can not provide informed consent.