Research Focus

The research group "Care Structures" does research on care structures for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Regarding the term "structure," the research group understands the presence and interaction of different elements that can be relevant for the development of a specific care arrangement. This includes, among other things, professional care services, family networks, but also self-help and volunteer services as well as processes and conditions that shape these. It is the group's objective to scientifically analyze these structures and their interactions. In addition, the research group develops theoretical foundations as required to guide research and enable meaningful interpretation of data. These theoretical foundations promote the accuracy and feasibility of interventions.

In addition, the research group conducts process evaluations to explore how already developed and new care interventions can be implemented within existing structures.

The goal of the group's research projects is to provide knowledge and insights for the further development of care structures. To this end, the group conducts research in two overarching areas:

Stability of care arrangements for people living with dementia (SoCA-Dem)

The situation of family caregivers of people with dementia is challenging and complex, requiring a deeper and theoretically sound understanding to develop tailored interventions. Based on a meta-study, the research group has developed a middle-range theory on the stability of home care arrangements. This middle-range theory forms the theoretical basis for various studies in the area of family caregivers of people with dementia. These theory-driven projects relate, for example, to the development and evaluation of specific care concepts and networks (UplandCare, SABD-Fam or in-depth analyses of the situation of family caregivers of people with dementia (National Dementia Strategy 4.3.8, VeSpaRo, PreBeDem subproject "Relatives").

Dementia-Specific Long-Term Care (Nursing Homes)

The care of people living with dementia in nursing homes represents another research focus. This includes, for example, the development of competency profiles for professional caregivers in the care of people living with dementia (PeVA-Dem). The group also addresses questions of dementia-sensitive environmental design (G-EAT) as well as the investigation of policies for person-centered care in nursing homes (DemPol-Q). Another topic in this area is the investigation of the prevalence of delirium in nursing homes (DeliA).

Who we are

The Care Research Group at the DZNE site in Witten is a multidisciplinary team of scientists from various academic disciplines. Currently, nursing scientists, social scientists, and gerontologists contribute the specific theoretical and methodological perspectives of their academic disciplines to the joint research on care structures for people with dementia and their relatives, enabling a multifaceted, interdisciplinary view of the research subject. Many members of the group are also trained nursing professionals and benefit from their professional experience in care practice.