Radiographers’ attitudes towards persons with dementia

Objectives

Improvements in the competency level and changes in attitude of staff are extremely important due to the projected increase in the percentage of persons with dementias, who are frequently referred to imaging departments. The aim of this study is to assess the attitude of radiographers towards people with dementia and to identify whether there is any association between attitude and background variables such as age, gender and length of work experience.

Methods

Six University hospitals’ diagnostic imaging departments in Norway were surveyed, using the Norwegian translation of the validated Swedish version of the “Strain in nursing care assessment scale” (SNC). The study population was radiographers (N = 146).

Results

Significant differences in attitudes have been identified. Male radiographers reported significantly more negative attitudes than female radiographers (p = 0.02). Radiographers aged over 50 years reported a significantly more positive attitude than staff of aged 30 and under (p = 0.02). Staff with fewer than 10 years of work experience reported significantly more negative attitudes than staff with more than 20 years of experience (p = 0.04).

Conclusion

Overall, the attitude of the radiographers towards people with dementia was measured to be of a negative rather than a positive nature.