In the Netherlands 230.000 people have dementia and this figure will raise in the future up to half a million and more by 2050. A significant proportion of these people will receive care in long-term care institutions. Person-centred care and improvement of communication between caregivers and people with dementia receives an increased attention in the care for the elderly. In the past decades, several methods have been developed to address the needs of people with dementia. However, studies examining the effect of these methods often fail to report on how successfully these methods were implemented. This project aims to evaluate the implementation of the Veder Contact Method (VCM), which is developed and implemented in the daily care for people with dementia by the Foundation Theatre Veder. The VCM is a new method that combines core elements of treatment from existing methods, such as reminiscence, validation, integrated emotion-oriented care and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), with the use of theatrical elements like characters, music, costumes, props and poetry.
The aim of the research is twofold: Firstly to understand the factors that promote or hinder the VCM implementation process in the 24-hour care, and secondly, to gain insight into how the implementation of the method in the 24-hour care influences the behaviour and the quality of life of people with dementia, and the behaviour, attitude and job satisfaction of the caregivers.
After a literature review, a process analysis will be conducted based on qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with key figures. In addition, a controlled observational cohort study will be conducted. Six nursing home wards implementing VCM will be compared with six control wards providing Care As Usual. Quantitative observation and survey data from caregivers and residents will be collected before the implementation (T0) and nine to twelve months after the implementation (T1). The analysis will be structured by the constructs of the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance).
This project is a collaboration between Inholland University of Applied Sciences, VU Medical Center and the University of Amsterdam.
| Research team: | Petra Boersma (promovendus) Prof. Rose-Marie Dröes, VU Medisch Centrum, projectleider (promotor)Prof. Julia van Weert (tweede promotor) Prof. Berno van Meijel, Hogeschool Inholland (co-promotor) |
| Status: | lopend vanaf 1 juni 2012 |
| Funding for implementation of the VCM: | Fonds Nuts OHRA |
| Funding for evaluation | Hogeschool Inholland VU Medisch Centrum Universiteit van Amsterdam VGZ zorgverzekeraar |