Interplaying mechanisms in the implementation of Dementia Care Mapping for delivering Person-centered Care to older adults in nursing home settings.

ABSTRACT
Purpose:
This research lays out a study that explores the interplay among the elderly care context, the content of Dementia Care Mapping, and the Process of Implementation. The research aims to identify the most influential constraining and supporting mechanisms in realizing Dementia Care Mapping’s central aim
of monitoring the individual needs and well-being of older adults suffering from dementia in the Netherlands.
Methods:
To present our approach, we describe a qualitative cross-case analysis of five nursing homes using Dementia Care Mapping. Qualitative data includes observations and semi structured interviews. Actors included were: directors of facilities (N=2), project leaders (N=2), nurses and head nurses (N=4),
licensed ‘mappers’ of the Dementia Care Mapping process (N=4) and family members/informal caregivers of persons with dementia (N=2). The Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research provided theoretical grounding for the conceptual framework that guided this study.
Results:
With the use of the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research and our conceptual framework, data collection is guided, data coded and analyzed and findings are presented in a structured comprehensive manner. Results of the cross-case analyses are presented in a matrix, thereby identifying
the interplaying mechanisms of Dementia Care Mapping implementation.
Implications and Limitations: The most important contribution of this research is its novel understanding of factors interplaying when Dementia Care Mapping is implemented for the delivery of Person-centered Care. Furthermore, the
interplaying mechanisms identified in this study help to: 1) understand implementation of such tools in the health care context, 2) explore Dementia Care Mapping’s complexity regarding heterogeneous results in literature and 3) understand Dementia Care Mapping’s contribution to the four constructs of
Person-centered Care.
Practical implications:
This study’s findings provide a better understanding for management of the interplaying mechanisms constraining and supporting the realization of Person-centered Care through Dementia Care Mapping.
The identification of these mechanisms provides a guide in developing action plans for implementation in the elderly care context.
Originality:
This research is the first study to identify interplaying mechanisms constraining and supporting Dementia Care Mapping implementation, thereby answering recent calls in literature to fill this gap.