Understanding the Thoughts of Care Facility Staff Supporting People With Diabetes in Later Life: A Comparative Study Based on Nurse Staffing Standards

Abstract

[Objective] A questionnaire survey was conducted to clarify the thoughts of facility staff regarding their interactions with elderly people with diabetes and to obtain information to improve support. [Methods] An anonymous self-administered questionnaire or web survey was administered to 1,497 elderly care facility staff members in Prefecture A [please check this carefully]. This study was conducted in November 2020. Free-form responses were analyzed using text mining. [Results] A total of 331 participants were initially surveyed (response rate, 22.1 %), of whom 89 (26.9 %) were surveyed after excluding missing data. The occupations included nurses (36.0 %) and care workers (34.8 %). The most frequently occurring words were "food," "think," "difficult," "cognition," and "eat," and the co-occurrence network showed connections with "think," "eat," "blood sugar," and "lifestyle." The correspondence analysis showed characteristics according to facility nurse staffing criteria. [Discussion] Many of the staff members had conflicts about "food" and "eating" and found it difficult to manage their diet. The results also suggest that they had a desire to acquire knowledge about diabetes care.