Abstract
The present study aimed to elucidate the relationship between the burnout of practitioners of dementia care and improvement of the environment for the elderly with dementia. To do so, a questionnaire survey was administered to dementia care staff from geriatric health service facilities. The number of valid responses from nurses was 43 (86.0%) and 44 (88.0%) from care workers, respectively. For nurses, it was found that “products and technology” was related to “emotional exhaustion” and “personal accomplishment.” In addition, “natural environment and human-made changes to environment” were related to “emotional exhaustion” and “depersonalization” for nurses, and to “emotional exhaustion” for care workers. In contrast, “support and relationships” was not related to any item for either nurses or care workers. Furthermore, for both nurses and care workers, “attitudes” was related to “emotional exhaustion,” “depersonalization,” and “personal accomplishment.” Finally, “services, systems, and policies” was related to “personal accomplishment” for nurses, while it was associated with “emotional exhaustion” for care workers. In the support of education, to decrease burnout among those who engage in the care of the elderly with dementia, differences in recognition between nurses and care workers must be considered.
