Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 7 of 7
A memory like clockwork: accounts of living through dementia
- Author:
- GILLIES B.A.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 4(4), November 2000, pp.366-374.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The opportunities open to individuals with dementia to describe their experience and there by influence their treatment and care have hitherto been limited by a perception of assumed inability and incompetence, rendering such contributions as invalid or at best unreliable. Recently, more attention has been focused on the value of finding an appropriate means of harnessing such experiences and examining what can be learned from listening to subjective accounts. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of the experiences of 20 individuals diagnosed with dementia. In the absence of a shared diagnosis, however, these individuals contextualised their experiences in the normality of old age. Their accounts offer insight into the impact and frustrations of living with a failing memory and the challenges of the aging process, the meaning they attached to what was happening to them, and how they attempted to cope with the assaults on their self-esteem brought about by a growing sense of failure, incompetence and letting down those closest to them.
Good practice: Merevale House
- Author:
- -
- Journal article citation:
- Alzheimers Disease Society Newsletter, December 1998, pp.6-7.
- Publisher:
- Alzheimers Disease Society
Discusses the benefits of the Sonas programme, an approach pioneered in Ireland to improve communication amongst people with severe dementia through stimulating the senses.
Effects of reminiscence and life review on late-life depression: a meta-analysis
- Authors:
- BOHLMEIJER Ernst, SMIT Filip, CUIJPERS Pim
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(12), December 2003, pp.1088-1094.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of reminiscence and life review on late-life depression across different target groups and treatment modalities. Twenty controlled outcome studies were retrieved from Psychlit, Medline and Dissertation Abstracts. For each study a standardised effect size, d, was calculated and a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. An overall effect size of 0.84 (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)=0.31-1.37) was found, indicating a statistically and clinically significant effect of reminiscence and life review on depressive symptomatology in elderly people. This effect is comparable to the effects commonly found for pharmacotherapy and psychological treatments. The effect was larger in subjects with elevated depressive symptomatology (d=1.23) as compared to other subjects (d=0.37). Other characteristics of the subjects or interventions were not found to be related to increased or decreased effect sizes. Reminiscence and life review are potentially effective treatments for depressive symptoms in the elderly and may thus offer a valuable alternative to psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Especially in non-institutionalised elderly people - who often have untreated depression - it may prove to be an effective, safe and acceptable form of treatment. Randomized trials with sufficient statistical power are necessary to confirm the results of this study.
Evaluating the impact of reminiscence on the quality of life of older people
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Reminiscence has been defined as 'the vocal or silent recall of events in a person's life, either alone, or with another person or group of people'. Anecdotal evidence suggests that reminiscence can improve the well-being of older people, but there have been very few substantial studies. In our study, 142 older people living in care settings participated in an evaluation of the impact of reminiscence on quality of life. We assessed our participants' quality of life before and after the intervention, and changes in their quality of life over the period of the intervention were compared with those found in a group of older people who were not involved in any reminiscence intervention (the control group). We also carried out interviews and focus groups with care staff, older people, and family carers of older people, to establish their views and feelings on reminiscence.
The lost ones; recovering the past to help their present: practice example 3
- Author:
- GIBSON Faith
- Publisher:
- University of Stirling. Dementia Services Development Centre
- Publication year:
- 1991
- Pagination:
- 15p.
- Place of publication:
- Stirling
This report describes the beginning of a project to use reminiscence as a way of helping very troublesome people with dementia living in residential care.
Telling it like it was. Audio-taping stories told by mental health service users and carers
- Author:
- SMITH Martin
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 18(4), November 1999, pp.479-486.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper begins by claiming that the telling and hearing of stories is intrinsic to the social work task. Examples of the value of hearing stories in a variety of social work roles are provided, as are examples of the theoretical underpinnings which substantiate the importance of enabling service users and carers to tell their stories. The main focus of the paper is on relating how audio-taping the experiences of service users and carers evolved as part of the author's work. With the permission of those interviewed, examples are quoted from accounts of three different family members attempting to deal with a relative's progressive deterioration into severe dementia. These accounts are followed by the memories of a woman who took an overdose and was subsequently 'sectioned' under The Mental Health Act 1983. An interview with two parents attempting to respond to the needs of their schizophrenic son is discussed. Some of the unexpected positive repercussions of recording interviews with these service users are described and some cautions are also highlighted. The paper concludes with suggestions of how audio-taping the stories of service users can be used to benefit social workers engaged in various aspects of social work today.
The family stories workshop: stories for those who cannot remember
- Authors:
- HEPBURN Kenneth W., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 37(6), December 1997, pp.827-832.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The Family Stories Workshop (FSW) is a process through which family members and friends of persons with dementing disorders living in nursing homes develop stories of these residents' lives. The stories are meant to help staff members to develop a better, more deeply felt understanding of the lives of the residents, persons who can no longer tell their own stories. This article describes the FSW as well as outcomes from preliminary implementation. It suggests ways of using elements of the process to more broadly accomplish the FSW purposes.