Evaluation of a Workshop on Therapeutic Lying and Dementia Care for Long-Term Care Staff Supporting Persons With Dementia

Background: Therapeutic lying is an intervention used by health care professionals (HCPs) when a person with dementia is disoriented and distressed and when all other interventions have not succeeded in deescalating the symptoms of dementia. Method: The goal of this study was to evaluate a workshop on therapeutic lying and dementia care for HCPs specializing in the care of persons living with dementia with symptoms of dementia. Seventeen HPCs, including nurses and personal support workers (PSWs), participated in the workshop and evaluation survey. Results: The workshop did not affect the attitudes of HCPs toward therapeutic lying and dementia, their sense of competence in providing care to patients with dementia, or their rate of admitting to using therapeutic lying in dementia care settings. All of the PSWs and 50.0% of the nurses admitted to using therapeutic lying as an intervention. Conclusion: Current nursing ethics standards and training practices may cause reluctance among nurses to include therapeutic lying in care plans as a last resort and as a person- and family-centered intervention to deescalate the symptoms of dementia.