人口老化早已是世界密切注意的議題。臺灣隨著高齡人口急遽上升，失智人口亦隨著快速增加。當前失智症患者的照顧之主要場域在機構混合式照顧及機構內的失智症照顧專區，而照顧服務員是機構第一線的服務人員，為提供長期照顧直接服務的主要人力之一，其素質的好壞直接影響照顧品質的優劣。本研究之目的旨在探討失智症照顧服務員應具備的專業職能。採質性研究方法，以嘉義縣、市三個長期照護機構的主管、照顧服務員及住民家屬共9位個案為研究對象，使用深度訪談、半結構式訪談指引進行資料收集，並輔以工作觀察分析檢視失智症照顧服務員之專業職能。經由資料收集、形成文本、主題分析歸納出失智症照顧服務員之專業職能有六項，分別為.「動機」、「特質」、「自我概念」、「知識與技能」、「工作倫理」、「問題解決能力」等。研究歸納後，研究者認為失智症與一般失能者症狀不同，且症狀非常多樣。照顧服務員除了照顧失能者須具備的專業之外，必須增加失智症相關專業知能，否則無法妥善照顧失智症患者。本研究所探討的失智症照顧職能內涵若能加以落實，不失為提昇長期照護機構中失智症照顧品質之方法。 The aging of the population has long been one of the world’s issues people have been paying close attention to. With the Taiwan’s elderly population rapid increase, the number of cases of dementia also increases. Current dementia care source lies mainly in mixed institution and specialized areas within these institutions, and the care attendants are the first line service personnel in these institution, they are the main source of long term service, and the quality of these personnel directly reflects on the quality of the service. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether dementia care staff possesses appropriate professional functions. Taking a qualitative research approach to Chiayi county and city’s four long-term care institution’s administrator, care taking personnel, and patient’s family member, a total of nine subjects, using in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews for data collection, supplemented with observation and analysis of professional functions. Through data collection formed text copies, thematic analysis summarized the professional functions of dementia care includes ＂motivation＂、 ＂character＂、 ＂self-concept＂、 ＂knowledge and skills＂、 ＂work ethic＂ and ＂problem solving abilities＂ and so on. Study concludes, the researchers believe that the symptoms of dementia and general disability is different and the symptoms are very diverse. Personnel working with dementia patients must acquire in-depth professional knowledge regarding dementia, or cannot properly take care of patients with dementia otherwise. If the connotation and exploration of this study is to be implemented, quality of dementia care provided by long-term care institutions is bound to increase.
