One of a series of e-learning modules which aim to provide a general introduction to the dementia and the experience of living with dementia. This module covers: views of dementia in the media; facts and common misconceptions about dementia; common symptoms, clinical terminology and causes of symptoms. A self-assessment exercise is include to check understanding of key points covered...
One of a series of e-learning modules which aim to provide a general introduction to the dementia and the experience of living with dementia. This module covers: views of dementia in the media; facts and common misconceptions about dementia; common symptoms, clinical terminology and causes of symptoms. A self-assessment exercise is include to check understanding of key points covered in the module. The resource contains audio. The Dementia e-learning resources were originally released with the title of 'The Open Dementia e-learning programme'.
Subject terms:
mass media, stereotyped attitudes, dementia, attitudes;
Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 20(5), 2021, pp.1729-1744.
Publisher:
Sage
The prevalence of dementia in Singapore is on the rise. Due to the negative perceptions associated with the condition, persons with dementia and their care partners face an increased risk of social isolation and loneliness. One objective of the Arts and Dementia programme offered by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association is to increase inclusivity of persons with dementia in the community...
(Edited publisher abstract)
The prevalence of dementia in Singapore is on the rise. Due to the negative perceptions associated with the condition, persons with dementia and their care partners face an increased risk of social isolation and loneliness. One objective of the Arts and Dementia programme offered by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association is to increase inclusivity of persons with dementia in the community. To investigate the impact of the programme on perceptions towards dementia, a mixed-method approach involving 75 artists and volunteers was conducted. Findings from the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire revealed that participants involved in the programme had significantly more positive perceptions than new volunteers. A thematic analysis was conducted on the focus group discussions and four themes were identified: (1) meaningful and rewarding interactions, (2) focus on abilities, (3) learning process and (4) more can be done. These findings suggest that meaningful experiences during the programme may be a driving force behind positive perceptions towards dementia.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Journal of Mental Health, 26(5), 2017, pp.419-425.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
London
Background: Improving people’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of dementia is important in the formation of dementia-friendly communities. However, at present, there is very little evidence from adolescents, who are already the junior members of such communities and will be carers in their own rights in the future. Our aim was to evaluate adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes of dementia...
(Publisher abstract)
Background: Improving people’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of dementia is important in the formation of dementia-friendly communities. However, at present, there is very little evidence from adolescents, who are already the junior members of such communities and will be carers in their own rights in the future. Our aim was to evaluate adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes of dementia.
Methods: Four-hundred and fifty adolescents, aged 15–18 years, from schools in Sussex (UK) were invited to complete a series of questions that assessed their dementia knowledge and attitudes.
Results: A total of 359 adolescent students completed the questionnaire. Out of 15 questions on dementia knowledge, participants were on average able to answer less than half correctly (M = 6.65, standard deviation = 2.34). Responses to the attitudes questionnaire showed that adolescent students had both positive and negative attitudes toward dementia.
Discussion: There is scope for adolescents attending school to improve their dementia knowledge and attitudes. More effort is needed to embed initial dementia understanding in the school curriculum which will improve awareness about dementia at an earlier age and will enhance dementia-friendly communities.
(Publisher abstract)
Working with Older People, 21(3), 2017, pp.147-156.
Publisher:
Emerald
Purpose: Mentalization is a psychodynamic concept that can help us to understand our emotional responses to others. The purpose of this paper to illustrate how the concept of mentalization may be applied in dementia care.
Design/methodology/approach: An autoethnographic account of the author’s experiences (first author), working as a project manager in which the author used the concept...
(Publisher abstract)
Purpose: Mentalization is a psychodynamic concept that can help us to understand our emotional responses to others. The purpose of this paper to illustrate how the concept of mentalization may be applied in dementia care.
Design/methodology/approach: An autoethnographic account of the author’s experiences (first author), working as a project manager in which the author used the concept of mentalization to pay close attention to how the author’s emotional responses to people with dementia influenced thier communicative interactions.
Findings: This paper outlines how the author processed the author’s own internal experiences in both mentalizing and non-mentalizing modes, as the author wrestled with feelings of conscious incompetence. In the non-mentalizing mode, the author was pre-occupied with the author’s own anxieties. The author struggled to relate to or make sense of the experiences of the individuals with advanced dementia that the author engaged with. Moving towards a mentalizing stance helped the author to attune to the embodied experiences of the people with dementia and recognise the reciprocal nature of our communicative interactions.
Originality/value: This paper illustrates the role that mentalization may play in developing natural and authentic strategies to support communicative engagement in dementia care. These strategies may be of potential value to family carers. Family carers who can maintain a mentalizing stance may be more able to respond in empathic, person- centred ways to people who are living with dementia. On the other hand, non-mentalizing responses may be a root cause of mis-understanding and emotional disengagement.
(Publisher abstract)
Objectives: To identify factors that may increase intentions to seek help for an early dementia diagnosis. Early dementia diagnosis in Ireland is low, reducing the opportunity for intervention, which can delay progression, reduce psychological distress and increase social supports.
Method: Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and a mixed methods approach, three focus groups were conducted...
(Publisher abstract)
Objectives: To identify factors that may increase intentions to seek help for an early dementia diagnosis. Early dementia diagnosis in Ireland is low, reducing the opportunity for intervention, which can delay progression, reduce psychological distress and increase social supports.
Method: Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and a mixed methods approach, three focus groups were conducted (N = 22) to illicit attitudes and beliefs about help seeking for an early dementia diagnosis. The findings informed the development of the Help Seeking Intentions for Early Dementia Diagnosis (HSIEDD) questionnaire which was piloted and then administered to a sample of community dwelling adults from Dublin and Kildare (N = 95).
Results: Content analysis revealed participants held knowledge of the symptoms of dementia but not about available interventions. Facilitators of help seeking were family, friends and peers alongside well informed health professionals. Barriers to seeking help were a lack of knowledge, fear, loss, stigma and inaccessible services. The quantitative findings suggest the TPB constructs account for almost 28% of the variance in intentions to seek help for an early diagnosis of dementia, after controlling for sociodemographic variables and knowledge of dementia. In the final step of the regression analysis, the main predictors of help seeking were knowledge of dementia and subjective norm, accounting for 6% and 8% of the variance, respectively.
Conclusion: Future interventions should aim to increase awareness of the support available to those experiencing early memory problems, and should highlight the supportive role that family, friends, peers and health professionals could provide.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
dementia, diagnosis, early intervention, attitudes;
Based on the findings from the 2014 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey, this research update looks at public attitudes, knowledge and behaviour towards dementia. It examines whether policy and media activity around the area of dementia has resulted in any changes in attitudes since the publication of the 2010 survey. The findings cover public knowledge about dementia; dementia...
(Edited publisher abstract)
Based on the findings from the 2014 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey, this research update looks at public attitudes, knowledge and behaviour towards dementia. It examines whether policy and media activity around the area of dementia has resulted in any changes in attitudes since the publication of the 2010 survey. The findings cover public knowledge about dementia; dementia and rights; care provision; and views about the support families and partners should provide. The results show that although an increasing number of people know someone with the dementia, public understanding of dementia is still quite low. It also identifies a lack of knowledge about the links between diet, exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption and the risk of developing dementia. It highlights the need for more information to develop an understanding of how dementia can affect a person and the importance of seeking early medical intervention.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Twenty-three people from diverse backgrounds share their experiences of living with dementia. The personal accounts demonstrate that with the right support at the right time, and above all with opportunities to continue to contribute to society in a meaningful way, it is possible to live well with dementia. Their stories show that each person with dementia is a unique individual with their own...
(Edited publisher abstract)
Twenty-three people from diverse backgrounds share their experiences of living with dementia. The personal accounts demonstrate that with the right support at the right time, and above all with opportunities to continue to contribute to society in a meaningful way, it is possible to live well with dementia. Their stories show that each person with dementia is a unique individual with their own personality, history, beliefs, cultural affinities and sense of humour, and their own way of adapting to the disabilities and opportunities which living with dementia involves.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Purpose of the Study: To explore cause and control illness representations in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Design and Methods: Six older adults living in the North West of England completed semi-structured interviews that were subject to an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Three main themes emerged indicating that participants were trying to make sense of their AD by comparing it with their previous experience of physical health illnesses. All participants acknowledged their diagnosis of AD but engaged with it in a graded way because of a lack of tangible diagnostic evidence. Participants developed pragmatic emotional responses to their situation. Implications: One of the main implications of the results is that caution needs to be exercised within clinical practice so that the pragmatic responses of individuals with AD are not pathologised.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Purpose of the Study: To explore cause and control illness representations in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Design and Methods: Six older adults living in the North West of England completed semi-structured interviews that were subject to an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Three main themes emerged indicating that participants were trying to make sense of their AD by comparing it with their previous experience of physical health illnesses. All participants acknowledged their diagnosis of AD but engaged with it in a graded way because of a lack of tangible diagnostic evidence. Participants developed pragmatic emotional responses to their situation. Implications: One of the main implications of the results is that caution needs to be exercised within clinical practice so that the pragmatic responses of individuals with AD are not pathologised.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 13(2), 2014, pp.160-175.
Publisher:
Sage
This article considers the work of a number of contemporary British poets who have attempted to articulate some of the experiences that dementia entails. The unique potential of poetry as a means of portraying the dislocations and reinventions of self that dementia involves has been mostly overlooked. The insights offered by critical gerontology are central to this article. This perspective calls...
(Publisher abstract)
This article considers the work of a number of contemporary British poets who have attempted to articulate some of the experiences that dementia entails. The unique potential of poetry as a means of portraying the dislocations and reinventions of self that dementia involves has been mostly overlooked. The insights offered by critical gerontology are central to this article. This perspective calls for critical thought about the ways in which dementia has been socially constructed. The challenges posed by poets such as Vuyelwa Carlin, Valerie Laws and Jo Shapcott in particular, are examined. The complex poetic representations offered by these poets acknowledge the pathological declines of dementia and simultaneously celebrate the individuality and life of their subjects. Considering dementia with reference to the work of contemporary poets and critical gerontology is one way in which we can deepen our understanding of what this illness involves and humanise those who suffer from it.
(Publisher abstract)
The art participation project 'Lost in Art too' was originally developed for people with dementia and their carers, providing an enjoyable activity to do together and also to demonstrate the strengths of the person with dementia. The project was then expanded to bring together schoolchildren to work alongside people with dementia and their carers, with the aim of challenging perceptions about...
(Edited publisher abstract)
The art participation project 'Lost in Art too' was originally developed for people with dementia and their carers, providing an enjoyable activity to do together and also to demonstrate the strengths of the person with dementia. The project was then expanded to bring together schoolchildren to work alongside people with dementia and their carers, with the aim of challenging perceptions about dementia. Five people with mild to moderate dementia participated, attending with family members. The two-hour weekly sessions took place in Denbigshire, north Wales over 10 weeks. In the ninth session a group of fifteen primary school children (aged 9-10 years) attended the group with teaching staff. Afterwards the children participated in focus groups and a thematic analysis was under taken. Some of the responses of the children are presented under the following themes: nervousness about attending the session; expectations due to beliefs about people with dementia; enjoyment of working with people with dementia; and opinion change.
(Edited publisher abstract)