Emotional Care Competency Scale for Dementia: Development and Correlations With Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence

Development of an Emotional Care Competency Scale for Dementia Among Long-Term Care Professionals and Its Relationship to Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence in Dementia Care

This study aims to develop an "Emotional Care Competency Scale for Dementia" targeting long-term care professionals and to explore the relationship between caregivers' emotional care competency and their knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in dementia care.

A mixed-methods approach will be employed in two exploratory phases:

Phase One: Scale Development Participants: Purposeful sampling will recruit experienced long-term care professionals.

Method: Conduct qualitative interviews; analyze the collected data using content analysis to code and categorize information; draft the initial version of the Emotional Care Competency Scale for Dementia based on the results.

Phase Two: Scale Validation and Relationship Analysis Objective: Validate the reliability and validity of the scale and examine the relationship between professionals' emotional care competency and their knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in dementia care.

Design: Longitudinal descriptive correlational study. Participants: Convenience sampling to recruit participants for two rounds of questionnaire surveys.

This study seeks to provide a comprehensive tool for assessing emotional care competencies among dementia care professionals and to understand how these competencies relate to their knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in delivering care.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Aged 18 years or older. Currently working in a setting that provides dementia care. Currently engaged in nursing or caregiving services in the long-term care sector.

Able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese. No history of mental illness.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Under 18 years of age. Suffering from significant physical or psychological illnesses.