Supporting Persons With Dementia: Perspectives From Certified Nurse's Assistants.

Background and Objectives: Many persons with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD) receive care from paid staff in residential communities. The most common staff in these communities are certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Although CNAs have a high number of interactions with residents, and thus the possibility of engaging in social interactions, evidence suggests that they provide limited social support to persons with ADRD. Little is known about the attitudes of CNAs toward providing social support to persons with ADRD and their perception of components of quality social interactions with these individuals. Research Design and Methods: We conducted a thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with 11 CNAs (91% female participants, mean age 23.6) to understand their perceptions about providing social support to persons with ADRD and the components of effective social interactions. Results: Our results show that CNAs consider providing social support to be an important part of their role as CNAs. Additionally, participants emphasized the interplay of verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and internal beliefs and attitudes toward persons with ADRD in creating effective social interactions. Participants highlighted multiple barriers to providing residents with social support, including lack of time, lack of training, and the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Discussion and Implications: We offer implications for expanding training for CNAs working with persons with dementia and improving policy based on our results.

Discerning Motivational Interviewing through a spiritual lens-discovering a Christian MI archetype and native MI language.

An overarching conceptual perspective on motivational interviewing (MI) captures how it evokes intrinsic motivation for change by relying on four key elements: establishing vision, exploring discrepancy, and building efficacy, which coalesce to resolve for change. We suggest that the Christian narrative and doctrines of creation, fall, and redemption, motivating repentance resolve, invoke these same motivating processes. In this paper we explore these parallels between MI and Christian doctrine and use empirical literature to suggest how secular and religious counselors can enhance their efforts to evoke intrinsic motivation for change with religious clients by employing their "native language" within this framework of MI process.