UCLA

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the relationship between the social interaction competence of non-Korean direct-care staff members and Korean American older adults exhibiting behavioral symptoms of dementia (BSDs) who reside in an ethnically specific nursing home. A pilot study was completed to evaluate the feasibility, usability, content validity, and inter-rater reliability of two social interaction-coding schemas, a dementia competence coding schema and a culturally competent coding schema, developed by the principal investigator.

In general, there was a negative trend between direct-care staff's dementia competence in social interaction and BSDs that interacted with their level of cultural competence in social interaction. These results suggest that both dementia competent and culturally competent social interactions influence BSDs, although there were morning and afternoon differences. The results provide a foundation that may lead to the development of culturally appropriate and supportive interventions for ethnic minority older adults, as a starting point to improve dementia care for ethnic minority nursing home residents. Implications and recommendations for further studies are presented.