Compassionate Dementia Care:​ Building Strong Relationships

Overview

This course is designed to equip caregivers and healthcare professionals with the essential skills to provide compassionate and effective care for individuals living with dementia. By emphasizing a person-centered approach, participants will develop a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges faced by individuals with dementia. The course will focus on enhancing communication, managing challenging behaviors, and offering emotional support to people with dementia and their caregivers. Through practical strategies and real-world examples, participants will gain the confidence and competence to create a supportive and nurturing environment for individuals living with dementia.

A critical component of this course is recognizing and addressing the disparities in dementia care among different populations. We will examine how factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural background can influence the experience of dementia and access to care. Understanding these disparities is essential for providing equitable and culturally competent care to all individuals living with dementia.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for the following professionals who care for patients with dementia:

  • Direct service staff members:  Including but not limited to certified registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse aides, nursing assistants, physician assistants, home health or personal care aides, activities directors, feeding assistants, social workers, dietary staff, respite care providers, adult day care providers, and all occupational, physical, and speech therapy staff.
  • Administrative staff members: Senior employees at facilities or programs, including administrators and managerial staff members who directly supervise covered direct service staff members. 
  • Other staff members: A staff member who is either a full-time or part-time employee, independent consultant, or a staff member of a contractor or subcontractor who has contact on a recurring basis with, but does not provide medical services for, residents or program participants, including housekeeping staff, front desk staff, other administrative staff, and other individuals who have incidental contact.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, the learner will be able to:

  1. Apply person-centered care principles in dementia care medical management, ensuring that assessments and care plans are individualized, and cultural backgrounds are considered.  
  2. Develop effective communication strategies for interacting with individuals with dementia, considering cultural differences, language barriers, and the unique communication challenges faced by individuals with dementia.  
  3. Implement strategies to manage challenging behaviors in dementia, while addressing the underlying causes of these behaviors, ensuring that interventions are culturally sensitive and do not exacerbate existing health disparities.  
  4. Provide emotional support and care for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, ensuring that support services and supportive and therapeutic environments are equitable and accessible to all.  
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 Nursing Hours
  • 0.10 IACET CEUs
  • 1.25 NAB/NCERS
Course opens: 
12/16/2024
Course expires: 
12/15/2025

Alison Warren, DAOM, MSHS

Dr. Alison Warren is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in the departments of Integrative Medicine, Clinical Research and Leadership, and Institute for Brain Health and Dementia. Her professional background includes Integrative Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Neuroscience, and Psychology. Her research examines the relationships between these disciplines as they relate to the chronic stress response and brain health; stigma related to medical pathologies, such as mental disorders and dementia; the relationships between the gut microbiome, brain health, and mental disorders; and neuronutrition. Dr. Warren lectures regularly on topics related to mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and is widely published in the field. 

Clinical Advisor

Christina Prather, MD, FACP 

Conflicts of Interest

There are no reported conflicts for any of the faculty. 

Anti-discrimination Policy

Dr. Warren and Dr. Prather have agreed to our anti-discrimination policy that prohibits the inclusion of discriminatory language, graphics, or references on the basis of race, gender identity, age, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, or religion.

Disclosure link: 
Additional Disclosures

Nursing Continuing Professional Development 

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Nursing Continuing Professional Development activity is 1.00 contact hours.

IACET

As an IACET Accredited Provider, Innovation Horizons offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard.

Long-Term Care Administrators 

This educational offering has been reviewed and approved by the National Continuing Education Review Service (NCERS) of the Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) and approved for 1.25 clock hours and 1.25 participant hours.  

NAB/NCERS Approval Number: 20251214-1.25-A108484-DL

Learners must provide their nursing home administrator license number and NAB CE registry identification number. 

Joint Accreditation Statement 

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (PACE) and Innovation Horizons.  PACE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Interprofessional Continuing Education

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1.0 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 Nursing Hours
  • 0.10 IACET CEUs
  • 1.25 NAB/NCERS
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Required Hardware/Software

High-Speed Internet Connection

Adobe Reader for PDF file download

Browser

  • This educational activity has been tested in the latest versions of Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome browsers on Windows or Macintosh computers. 

  • The Safari, Firefox, or Chrome browsers are recommended for best results. 

  • The Internet Explorer browser is not recommended as it is no longer supported by Microsoft.