“Best Kept Secret”: Perspectives from Adult Day Care Staff

Abstract

The aims of this project were three-fold: explore through semi-structured interviews with adult day care staff members their perceptions on transitioning individuals with dementia to more supportive care; describe the impact of COVID-19 on adult day care centers; explore staff members’ understanding of Washington State policies on adult day centers and determine if this knowledge varies among the positionalities. It was found that staff members are used as a supportive resource during times of transitioning the individual with dementia, and COVID-19 has resulted in a shift of increased responsibilities of the caregivers, which led to many adult day care clients being transferred to more supportive care. The majority of adult day care staff were not familiar of Washington State policies affecting adult day care centers, but this varied by positionality. Future studies should use this as a preliminary study for understanding the supportive services offered by adult day care staff.