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The use of Talking Mats to support people with dementia and their carers to make decisions together
- Authors:
- MURPHY Joan, OLIVER Tracey
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 21(2), 2013, pp.171-180.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Policy guidelines insist that people with dementia should be involved in decisions about key life choices and transitions. However it can be difficult to obtain the views of dementia sufferers as their cognitive and communication difficulties increase. Many carers feel guilty about making decisions on behalf of the person with dementia, thus there is a need for innovative and effective ways to help people with dementia and their carers to interact with each. This project looked at whether Talking Mats, a low-tech communication framework, could be effective in supporting communication around daily living. Eighteen couples (person with dementia and their family carer) from Scotland and the North of England were involved. They were visited in their own homes and asked to discuss four topics (Personal Care; Getting Around; Housework; Activities) under two different conditions: (i) using the Talking Mats framework and (ii) using their usual communication methods (UCMs). After the interviews, each participant separately completed a short questionnaire (Involvement Measure) to evaluate how involved they felt in each type of discussion and to gauge overall satisfaction. The findings suggest that both groups of participants felt more involved in the discussions when using the Talking Mats framework. They also felt more satisfied with the outcome of those discussions.
‘She can see how much I actually do!’ Talking Mats®: helping people with dementia and family carers to discuss managing daily living
- Authors:
- OLIVER Tracey M., MURPHY Joan, COX Sylvia
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 13(3), October 2010, pp.27-35.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Dementia sufferers who feel included in decisions about their care have been shown to be more positively adjusted to accepting care than those who feel their family make decisions for them. Although most carers want to involve the person with dementia, enabling them to express their views can be difficult. Previous research has shown that people with dementia can use the Talking Mat (TM) framework. This low technology communication aid uses a simple system of picture symbols placed on a textured mat against a visual scale to indicate feelings about various options. The authors examined whether the TM framework could help people with dementia and their family carers feel more involved in decisions about managing their daily living. Eighteen couples (person with dementia and family carer) from Scotland and the North of England were asked to discuss how the person with dementia was managing their daily living activities (personal care, getting around, housework and activities) using the Talking Mats framework and when having a typical conversation. They then completed brief individual questionnaires. All participants felt more involved when using the TM framework. Qualitative analysis of the discussions also offered insight into what people with dementia who are still living at home are managing in relation to their daily living. Potential applications of the TM framework and implications for practice are discussed.