The Impact of the Resident’s
Cognitive Status on Nursing
Home Staff Knowledge of
Personhood
Leeanne Compere
Honors BSN student
University of Arkansas
Introduction
Personhood is the “standing or status that is bestowed upon one
human being, by others in the context of relationship and social
being”, it “implies recognition, respect, and trust” 1
The preservation of personhood, the root of individual identity, is
essential to the progressive movement of person-centered dementia
care (PCDC).
Nursing home residents living with dementia are particularly
susceptible to a loss of personhood due to a decline in communication
and social skills associated with the progressive disease process 1
Introduction
Therefore, residents living with
progressed dementia can no longer
preserve their personhood through
communication of self with others
The burden of preserving personhood
through knowledge about residents is
placed on the nursing home facility staff
2
If personhood is not preserved, residents
may be depersonalized, depressed,
and/or socially dead 3,4
5
Specific Aims of Study
To examine associations between:
1.
2.
Staff characteristics and the amount of knowledge
he/she has about residents in the nursing home
setting
Varying degrees of cognitive status among
residents living with dementia and the amount of
knowledge staff has about residents in the nursing
home setting
Methods: Procedure/Participants


Recruited 21 residents from 2 nursing homes
representing various cognitive levels based on
routine Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS)
testing
 8 severely impaired, 4 moderately impaired, 9
cognitively intact
Recruited 80 nursing staff members (RN,LPN,CNA)
who completed 100 surveys to assess their
knowledge of residents
Methods: Data Collection/Analysis





Data collected utilizing Buron’s2 Know Me Now
form to assess nursing staff’s knowledge of the
resident’s family, job/career, likes/dislikes/interests
and other information
1 point awarded per each unique piece of
knowledge noted
Information verified by residents’ families
Peer review of data for interrater reliability
Pearson correlation and One-way ANOVA utilized
to analyze associations
Know Me Now
Please list everything you know
about (resident’s name)’s family.
Please list everything you know about
(resident’s name)’s likes, dislikes, and
interests.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Please list everything you know
about (resident’s name)’s past
job/career.
What are some things that you know
about (resident’s name) that are not
included on this form?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The Nursing Staff
About you:
1. Occupational role in Nursing Home:
2. Education Level/degree:
3. Estimated hours spent daily with resident:
4. Length of employment at Nursing Home:
5. Total number of past employments at
Nursing Home Facilities:
5
Results: Specific Aim 1
EMPLOYMENT
(MO.)
Pearson
Correlation
Sig.
(n=91)
FAMILY
KNOWLEDGE
LIKES/
DISLIKES
.065607
.536662
-.058410
0.582345
JOB
OTHER
0.127535 0.011981
0.228313 0.910257
TOTAL
KNOWLEDGE
0.065746
0.535797
Results: Specific Aim 2
FAMILY
LIKES/
KNOWLEDGE DISLIKES
COGNITIVE
LEVEL
Pearson
Correlation
Sig.
(n=100)
0.468601
0.000001
0.197565
0.048807
JOB
OTHER
TOTAL
KNOWLEDGE
0.128101
0.204032
0.203469
0.042316
0.353559
0.000308
Correlation between Resident’s Cognitive
Status and Total Nursing Staff Knowledge
TotKnowLvl vs CogLevel
TotKnowLvl
25.0
16.7
8.3
0.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
CogLevel
15.0
Limitations






Small sample size
Small representation from moderately impaired
cognitive status
Nursing staff unwillingness to complete multiple
surveys
 Limitations on time/nursing staff fatigue
 Potential nursing staff embarrassment with limited
knowledge
Inconsistent performance/administration of BIM
testing over time
Availability of families to verify information
Potential sharing of resident information among staff
during completion of surveys
Conclusion




There is a negligible positive correlation
between months of employment and nursing
staff knowledge of residents
There was a non-significant effect on role CNA
vs. LPN/RN with respect to knowledge of the
residents
There was a moderate positive correlation
between residents’ cognitive status and nursing
staff knowledge of residents
Additional studies are needed to replicate and
identify future implications of this research
References
1. Kitwood, T. (1997). Dementia reconsidered: The person
comes first. New York: Open University Press.
2. Buron, B. (2010). Effects of life history collages on nursing
home staff caring for residents living with dementia: A pilot
study. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 36(12), 38-48.
3. Cecchin, M.I. (2001). Reconsidering the role of being a
daughter of a mother with dementia. Journal of Family
Studies, 7, 101-107.
4. Coker, E. (1998). Does your care plan tell my story?
Documenting aspects of personhood in long-term care.
Journal of Holistic Nursing, 16, 435-452.
5. The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing,
New York University, College of Nursing. Photography by
James Schuck.