Working Experience of Practitioners at the Dementia Care Center

Purpose: This study was attempted to collect opinions for operating dementia project of Dementia care center and to understand what is needed as a strategy for efficient dementia project by analyzing working experience of practitioners at the Dementia Care Center. Method: Focus group interviews with practitioner working at 47 Dementia Care Centers in Gyeonggi-do and contents analyzing method were conducted. Results: The contents of interviews were analyzed by dividing into two themes: the difficulty in conducting dementia project and the development plan for revitalizing the dementia project. Three categories of difficulties in carrying out the dementia projects were derived: negative perception of dementia, insufficient manpower system, and non-establishment of service system, and two categories of development plan were derived as the internal stability of the manpower system and the establishment of regional dementia management hub. Conclusion: Despite the increased social interest in dementia due to the implementation of the dementia national responsibility program, it was found that it was still difficult to carry out the project due to the negative perception of dementia. For the efficient operation of the dementia care center and vitalization of the project, the stabilization of the employment of working-level workers should be accompanied first, and a more systematic operation plan is needed by clearly establishing the role of each job group and confirming that the job is being performed according to the characteristics of the job.