Impact of settings and culture on nurses’ knowledge of and attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia: An integrative literature review

Abstract

Abstract Background Well‐trained nurses are required to support dementia patients; however, the quality of the provided dementia nursing care can be impacted by nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia. Aim To obtain an overview of the current nursing practice towards people with dementia around the world. Design An integrated literature review was conducted based on Whittemore and Knafl's method. Results A total of 72 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main themes were identified: (1) nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards dementia; (2) nursing experience of caring for people with dementia in acute and community care settings; and (3) dementia nursing care across health regions. Conclusion Nurses play the role of facilitators in the efficient delivery of quality care for dementia patients. A variety of attitudes and perceptions towards people with dementia were found to be triggered by the severity of dementia, religion, ethnicity and gender. Implications for practice Healthcare organisations and educational settings need to coordinate and function together to improve nurses’ knowledge and encourage positive attitudes towards people with dementia.

Keywords

• acute care in dementia
• attitudes
• Dementia
• integrative review
• knowledge
• neurocognitive disorders