As a lead hand in the security department at the juravinski hospital and cancer centre in hamilton ontario, jason regularly assists patients with dementia, an age-related disease that affects cognitive ability.Cognitive learning skills often, individuals with dementia become so confused or frightened that they appear unwilling to cooperate with those around them, posing a risk to the well-being of themselves or others.Cognitive learning skills in these cases, jason’s job is to decompress the situation, a task that often requires a great deal of patience and care.

Jason recently completed training to become a certified coach in gentle persuasive approaches (GPA), an educational curriculum that helps front line and ancillary hospital staff members better understand how to care for patients with dementia.Cognitive learning skills through GPA training, jason learned that sometimes the best approach is to simply stop and listen.

Health care workers trained in GPA learn how to use a person-centred, compassionate, and gentle approach when responding to patients who are demonstrating challenging behaviours associated with dementia and/or delirium.Cognitive learning skills the evidence-based curriculum was developed, implemented and evaluated in long term care settings in central south ontario in 2004 by a group of clinicians, educators and researchers with funding from the regional geriatric program central.Cognitive learning skills since then, it has spread to over 700 long term and complex continuing care facilities across ontario and canada. To date, over 63,000 staff members have been trained in gentle persuasive approaches, and 1000 of them have completed training to become certified GPA coaches.Cognitive learning skills

Until 2009, GPA had been accepted practice in long-term and complex care environments, but had not yet been evaluated for its effectiveness in acute care settings.Cognitive learning skills in 2009, a pilot trial of GPA on the juravinski hospital’s hip fracture unit, supported by orthopedic manager heather pepper and clinical nurse specialist karen robinson, demonstrated a reduction in code whites (violent situations) and restraint use, as well as patient-related staff occurrences (patient-staff interaction where potential or actual negative outcome for the staff member occurs).Cognitive learning skills

In may 2010, with funding from hamilton health sciences’ centre for healthcare optimization research and delivery (CHORD), the program was widely implemented at the juravinski hospital (JH) and has since expanded to the hamilton general hospital (HGH).Cognitive learning skills the CHORD funding has also supported a research study that examines the effectiveness of GPA in acute care, using the JH as a test site. The study examines data pre- and post-GPA implementation, and has shown a reduction in the number of code whites, code yellows (missing patients), and the use of patient restraints at the JH.Cognitive learning skills study results also support that education in GPA provides staff members in the acute care context with the knowledge and confidence to respond effectively to older adults who exhibit challenging behavior.Cognitive learning skills

“GPA has been very effective in supporting staff to use other techniques and strategies versus restraints,” says leslie gillies, chief of nursing practice and project lead for GPA at hamilton health sciences (HHS), which includes the juravinski and hamilton general hospitals.Cognitive learning skills “it’s made a big impact as far as ensuring a least-restraint environment at HHS.”

Staff members who participate in the one-day GPA education session learn a variety of techniques for responding to patients with dementia and/or delirium who are displaying what is referred to as ‘responsive behaviour’.Cognitive learning skills anne pizzacalla, a clinical nurse specialist and certified GPA coach at HHS, says the training encourages staff members to first change the way they think about this type of behaviour, which then influences the way they respond.Cognitive learning skills