H030 ‘I think I’ve come to find it normal’; a qualitative study into the experiences of nursing staff with neuropsychiatric symptoms of people with Huntington’s diseaseliving in a nursing home

<h3>Background</h3> Neuropsychiatric symptoms are experienced by partners of patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) as more distressing than somatic symptoms. However, it is unknown how nursing staff, who often care for HD patients in a late stage of the disease, experience these neuropsychiatric symptoms. <h3>Aims</h3> Insight in the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms on nursing staff and exploring their need for support to cope with these symptoms. <h3>Methods</h3> The researchers developed an interview guide which focused on two main topics: the experiences and perceptions of nursing staff of neuropsychiatric symptoms and their support needs. The researchers conducted these interviews. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and all personal identifiers were removed. <h3>Results</h3> Nursing staff was confronted on a daily basis with neuropsychiatric symptoms in HD patients. All of them have experienced at least one serious incident during their working experience. The research also showed that nursing staff are confronted with, among other things, aggression, disinhibited behavior and (sexual) inappropriate behavior. As a result, they experienced feelings of powerlessness, fear and the feeling of inadequacy in caring for people with HD. Nevertheless, all respondents also showed understanding for the neuropsychiatric symptoms, and they experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms as a challenge and experienced their work as satisfactory. <h3>Conclusion</h3> This study showed the importance of multidisciplinary focus on understanding the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms for nursing staff. Support, for nursing staff dealing with neuropsychiatric symptoms requires a person centered approach.