Fear of leaving them alone

Fear of leaving the person alone has been identified as the number one issue for support workers in caring for people with dementia at home, according to a recent national survey of Just Better Care’s workforce.

More than 60% of the support workers surveyed identified fear of leaving the person alone as the number one issue when caring for people at home with dementia followed by repetitive behaviours and speech (50%); limited family support (49%) and language issues (39%) (culturally and linguistically diverse).

The survey, carried out online last month, asked support workers about the main issues and strategies needed for caring for people with dementia at home.

More than two thirds (66.5%) of the support workers surveyed identified continuity of care as the number one strategy needed to help dementia customers stay at home, followed by more community based services and more social initiatives.

One in two support workers said there had been an increase in the number of customers with dementia they were caring for over the past 12 months and more people were now requiring multiple levels of care.

The most noticeable symptoms of customers with dementia were:

• Forgetfulness (82%)
• Disorientation (70%)
• Lack of attention span (61%)
• Depression (51%)
• Anger (45%)

The main strategies used to engage with customers who have dementia were:

• Photo albums and memory books (76%)
• Involving them in household activities and tasks (69%)
• Outings to a local coffee shop (65%)
• Music (50%)
• Reading (36%)
• Mind games (29%)

Nearly 50% of support workers surveyed said they had also noticed greater isolation among customers with dementia over the past year and less contact with family and friends.

The survey also showed support workers identified depression as the number one impact on families and friends of a customer with dementia, followed by dismay and feeling isolated.

Nearly three quarters of support workers surveyed said family and friends accessed information from their local GP followed by the internet.

Trish Noakes, Just Better Care chief executive, said the survey, released during Dementia Awareness Week, highlighted the importance of support workers in helping older people with dementia stay at home.

“This survey highlights the increasing isolation of older people from their families and friends, as  well as the rising incidence of chronic health problems for people as they live longer – both these issues provide many challenges for the community as the ageing population continues to grow,” Ms Noakes said.

“With the number of people diagnosed with dementia continuing to rise at significant rates, and the want of people to stay at home as long as possible as they grow older, the importance of support workers and good caring strategies is crucial.”

Ms Noakes added continuity of care was another key issue to helping people stay at home longer. “This is key to people staying home longer and needs to involve good communication and organisation between the support worker and the family.”

Well trained support workers in the aged care sector were vital to its future, according to Ms Noakes.

“This survey has identified cultural and language differences as increasingly an issue in some segments of the community which need to be addressed as does the lack of male support workers.”

The survey included a panel of 166 care workers nationally via an online questionnaire on Survey Monkey last month. 

Just Better Care, a national in-home service provider for older people and people with disabilities, is launching a three month awareness program about dementia next month for its customers and the broader community.