Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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New approaches to understanding dementia
- Author:
- GINESI Laura
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing Times, 112(25), 2016, pp.16-19.
- Publisher:
- Nursing Times
Improving understanding of brain disorders is likely to be one of the core aims of physiological research in the 21st century. This article, the second in a four-part series, looks at the main types of dementia and explores emerging theories about how the condition develops. These theories are improving understanding of the neuro-degeneration that characterises the most common forms of dementia, and will help improve care for those living with dementia. (Publisher abstract)
Living well with progressive non-fluent aphasia
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dementia Care, 24(5), 2016, pp.16-18.
- Publisher:
- Hawker
This article describes the battle the author had with getting a diagnosis of a rare form of dementia - PNFA (progressive non-fluent aphasia). She relates the effect of PNFA on her life and how to live well with it. The author also offers some advice for professionals. (Edited publisher abstract)
A different ending: addressing inequalities in end of life care: people with dementia
- Author:
- CARE QUALITY COMMISSION
- Publisher:
- Care Quality Commission
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- Newcastle upon Tyne
This document outlines the experience of people with dementia of barriers to good end of life care. The report is one of a suite of documents reporting on the Care Quality Commission end of life care thematic review, and is designed to be read in conjunction with the other documents. The review supports existing evidence that there are a number of barriers that prevent people with dementia receiving good end of life care, including lack of identification and planning, unequal access to care, and poor quality of care. The Care Quality Commission encourages health professionals, including GPs, to facilitate early conversations with people with dementia and those who are important to them about their wishes and choices for end of life care, and help them to contribute to an advance care plan wherever possible; commissioners and providers to make sure that staff have the training and support they need to care for people with dementia who are approaching the end of life, and to understand and implement the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and hospices to consider to what extent they are meeting the end of life care needs of people with dementia, and take action where required in line with our definition of good end of life care in hospice services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Exploring the prevalence of and factors associated with pain: a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling people with dementia
- Authors:
- BARRY Heather E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 24(3), 2016, pp.270-282.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of pain among this community-dwelling people with dementia (PWD) and to explore medication use. It also sought to investigate patient and caregiver variables associated with the presence of pain. Community-dwelling PWD and their caregivers were recruited between May 2009 and July 2012 from outpatient memory clinics in Northern Ireland to take part in a face-to-face structured interview with a researcher. Patients' cognitive status and presence of depression were established. A full medication history was taken. Both patients and caregivers were asked to rate patients' pain, at the time of the interview and on an average day, using a 7-point verbal descriptor scale. From the 206 patients who were eligible to take part, 75 patient–caregiver dyads participated in the study (participation rate = 36.4%). The majority of patients (92.0%) had dementia classed as mild or moderate. Pain was commonly reported among the sample, with 57.3% of patients and 70.7% of caregivers reporting patient pain on an average day. Significant differences were found between patients' and caregivers' reports of pain. Two-fifths of patients (40.0%) were prescribed analgesia. Antipsychotic, hypnotic and anxiolytic drug use was low, whereas antidepressant drugs were prescribed more commonly. Presence of pain was unaffected by dementia severity; however, the use of prescribed analgesic medication was a significant predictor of the presence of pain in these patients, whether reported by the patient or their caregiver ‘right now’ or ‘on an average day’. Patient and caregiver recruitment was challenging, and remains a barrier to research in this area in the future. (Edited publisher abstract)
A choir in every care home: case studies of singing in care homes. Working paper 8A
- Author:
- DEANE Kathryn
- Publisher:
- Baring Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 71
- Place of publication:
- London
Sets out 27 case studies to show singing and music can be effective for older people in care homes. The case studies were submitted during 2016 as part of the 'A Choir in Every Care Home' initiative to explore how music and singing can feature regularly in care homes across the country. The project aimed to find the greatest range of singing models, rather than the ones most used. Each brief case study provides information on the initiative, who benefits, advantages and disadvantages, training, costs, hints and tips, and support materials. (Edited publisher abstract)
The relationship between apathy and participation in therapeutic activities in nursing home residents with dementia: evidence for an association and directions for further research
- Authors:
- ELLIS Julie M., DOYLE Colleen J., SELVARAJAH Suganya
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 15(4), 2016, p.494–509.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Apathy is one of the most frequent and early symptoms of dementia. Because apathy is characterised by lack of initiative and motivation, it leads to considerable burden being placed on carers to ensure that the person living with dementia has a reasonable quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between apathy and participation in therapeutic activities for older people with dementia living in nursing homes. Ninety residents were recruited into the study, and apathy was measured by nursing home staff using the Apathy Evaluation Scale Clinician version. Staff also compiled data on each resident’s involvement in therapeutic activities. Among this sample, the mean age was 84.8 years, and mean length of stay in the nursing home was 1.8 years. The mean apathy score was 50.4, indicating that on average the residents had a moderate level of apathy. Overall, residents participated in six activities per week and those residents who were involved in the most activities had the lowest levels of apathy. This paper provides evidence that residents involved in therapeutic activities have lower levels of apathy. Further research should be conducted on the direction of causality, whether apathy levels can be changed through participation in therapeutic activities, the relationship between dementia severity and modifiability of apathy, and the intensity of therapeutic activities required to maintain functioning. (Publisher abstract)
Personalisation and growing old well with dementia
- Author:
- COLQUHOUN John
- Publisher:
- Housing Learning and Improvement Network
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 15
- Place of publication:
- London
In this paper looks at the origins of personalisation, which evolved from the disability movement to secure support services to enable disabled people to live independently and the Department of Health White Paper, ‘Valuing People’, which set out to transform the way that people with learning disability were supported in England. It discusses what is meant by the concept and some of the tensions and shortcomings of personalisation, including the lack of funding to implement the policy, the availability of choice. It then discusses the personalisation in relation to carers, self-funders, and specific issues concerning personalisation and growing old with dementia. The author argue that for people growing old with dementia it is the person-centred approach, with a thorough Care Act assessment, rather than a personal budget that is key. The author concludes by suggesting a 10 point strategy for the implementation of personalisation for people with dementia. (Edited publisher abstract)
Burden of care, social support, and sense of coherence in elderly caregivers living with individuals with symptoms of dementia
- Authors:
- STENSLETTEN Kari, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 15(6), 2016, pp.1422-1435.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Family members are often the care providers of individuals with dementia, and it is assumed that the need for this will increase. There has been little research into the association between the burden of care and the caregiver’s sense of coherence or receipt of social support. This study examined the relationship between the social support subdimensions and sense of coherence and the burden of care among older people giving care to a partner with dementia. The study was a cross-sectional observation study of 97 individuals, ≥65 years old and living with a partner who had symptoms of dementia. The authors used the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, the Relative Stress Scale, the Social Provisions Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, and a questionnaire on sociodemographic variables. They used multiple regression analysis in a general linear model procedure. The authors defined statistical significance as p < 0.05. With adjustments for sociodemographic variables, the association with burden of care was statistically significant for the subdimension attachment (p < 0.01) and for sense of coherence (p < 0.001). The burden of care was associated with attachment and with sense of coherence. Community nurses and other health professionals should take necessary action to strengthen attachment and sense of coherence among the caregivers of people with dementia. Qualitative studies could provide deeper understanding of the variation informal caregivers experience when living together with their partner with dementia. (Edited publisher abstract)
'Deferred or chickened out?’ decision making among male carers of people with dementia
- Authors:
- SAMPSON Michelle S., CLARK Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 15(6), 2016, pp.1605-1625.
- Publisher:
- Sage
In this paper, the authors present new insight into the ways in which carers of people with dementia make decisions in the context of seemingly declining autonomy and freedom associated with the condition. Their focus is on the ways in which carers reflect on decisions made in different temporal contexts (day-to-day, medium- and long term). Drawing on data and analysis from in-depth interviews with male informal carers of women with mild to moderate dementia living in the northwest of England, the authors outline how the decision-making process is dependent on the temporality of the decisions. Arguably unsurprisingly, the authors found that short-term or ‘day-to-day’ decisions were made with input from those cared for, while longer term decisions were deferred until a point when necessity meant carers had to make decisions themselves. However, and importantly, carers were aware of the implications of how they were making decision, including the potential impact in terms of partial withdrawal, or even full denial, of autonomy of those they care for. Consequently, the authors argue that carers adopt a form of practised autonomy to negotiate the complexity of everyday decision making while managing longer term uncertainty and anxiety. (Edited publisher abstract)
Risk of dementia and death in community-dwelling older men with bipolar disorder
- Authors:
- ALMEIDA Osvaldo P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(2), 2016, pp.121-126.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Background: Bipolar disorder has been associated with cognitive decline, but confirmatory evidence from a community-derived sample of older people is lacking. Aims: To investigate the 13-year risk of dementia and death in older adults with bipolar disorder. Method: Cohort study of 37 768 men aged 65–85 years. Dementia (primary) and death (secondary), as recorded by electronic record linkage, were the outcomes of interest. Results: Bipolar disorder was associated with increased adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of dementia (HR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.80–2.94). The risk of dementia was greatest among those with <5 years of history of bipolar disorder or who had had illness onset after 70 years of age. Bipolar disorder was also associated with increased mortality (HR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.28–1.77). Competing risk regression showed that bipolar disorder was associated with increased hazard of death by suicide, accidents, pneumonia or influenza, and diseases of the liver and digestive system. Conclusions: Bipolar disorder in later life is associated with increased risk of dementia and premature death. (Publisher abstract)