Exhausted and trapped in isolation. Caring for a spouse with dementia during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, spouse carers of persons with dementia (PwDs) found their care responsibilities overwhelming and had little time to focus on their own lives. To minimize the risk of being infected with Covid-19, older persons are recommended to self-isolate in their homes, while formal support such as respite care and day care centers are withdrawn. This study involved semi-structured interviews with 24 spouse carers of community-living PwDs, with the aim of describing their situation during the pandemic. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results revealed that they commonly declined help because of the perceived risk of their spouse being infected with Covid-19 and thus also possibly causing their death. They described feelings of being trapped in their situation, as they experienced having no choice than take all responsibility for the care of their partner themselves, with cost of being unable to take necessary breaks. This was described as making an already strained situation almost unbearable, which led to conflicts with their partner. However, the spouses also described positive aspects due to strategic changes in health and social care provision to prevent the spread of the virus, such as greater staff continuity in home care services, and patient transportation service. These made the PwD less stressed and influenced their everyday life positively. It could be concluded that the extent burden during the Covid-19 pandemic calls for extensive development of tailored support to better tackle the rapid changes that can occur in a society.

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Views about sensory modulation from people with schizophrenia and treating staff: A multisite qualitative study

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/0308022620988470 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 030802262098847

Author(s):

Tawanda Machingura ◽

Chris Lloyd ◽

Karen Murphy ◽

Sarah Goulder ◽

David Shum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Treatment Option ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Sensory Modulation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Effective Training

Introduction Current non-pharmacological treatment options for people with schizophrenia are limited. There is, however, emerging evidence that sensory modulation can be beneficial for this population. This study aimed to gain insight into sensory modulation from the user’s and the treating staff’s perspectives. Method A qualitative content analysis design was used. Transcripts from occupational therapists ( n=11) and patients with schizophrenia ( n=13) derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews were analysed for themes using content analysis. Results Five themes emerged from this study: Service user education on the sensory approach is the key; A variety of tools should be tried; Sensory modulation provides a valued treatment option; There are challenges of managing perceived risk at an organisational level; and There is a shortage of accessible and effective training. Conclusion People with schizophrenia and treating staff had congruent perceptions regarding the use of sensory modulation as a treatment option. The findings suggest that sensory modulation can be a valued addition to treatment options for people with schizophrenia. We suggest further research on sensory modulation intervention effectiveness using quantitative methods so these results can be further explored.

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Developing linguistic and cultural competence: participants' evaluation of a Maltese language and culture awareness program

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal ◽

10.14738/assrj.85.10195 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 251-260

Author(s):

NEVILLE SCHEMBRI

Keyword(s):

Cultural Competence ◽

Qualitative Methodology ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Term Care ◽

Cultural Encounters ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Care Services ◽

Awareness Program ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Quality Of Delivery

Malta is facing an increasing demand and decreasing supply of local nurses and engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) personnel is becoming the main solution to mitigate such problems. The case study examines the perceptions of CALD nurses about the content and utility of a Maltese language and culture awareness program. A qualitative methodology was adopted and data collected through focus group interviews conducted with sixteen (16) participants. Qualitative content analysis using Framework Method was used to analyse the data. Views on the training program have been divided between elements related to individual utility, service user utility, quality of delivery and areas for improvement. The results indicate that training can provide significant advantages in terms of enhancing cultural competence and cross-cultural encounters amongst CALD nurses working in elderly long term care and it is recommended that such programs are encouraged to be taken on board by organisations operating in similar health and social care services.

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Day Care for Sick Children

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.80.4.598a ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 80 (4) ◽

pp. 598-598

Author(s):

NEAL R. WEINBERG

Keyword(s):

Home Care ◽

Day Care ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Home Care Services ◽

Working Parents ◽

Full Agreement ◽

Day Care Centers ◽

Care Services ◽

Sick Children ◽

The Cost

To the Editor.— Dr Sterne's commentary (Pediatrics 1987;79:445-446) on day care for sick children presented a succinct summary of the dilemmas faced by working parents and the current options available to them when their children are ill. I am in full agreement that ideally there should be liberalized parental leave policies as well as improved understanding and acceptance of certain minor illnesses by existing day-care centers. However, because of the cost, it is doubtful that corporations can or will pay for home care services, which are twice as costly as an infirmary model, or will they be willing to grant additional paid days off to parents.

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Medicines reablement in intermediate health and social care services

Primary Health Care Research & Development ◽

10.1017/s1463423617000238 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (04) ◽

pp. 305-315

Author(s):

Kate Gerrish ◽

Sara Laker ◽

Sarah Wright ◽

Wendy Stainrod

Keyword(s):

Social Care ◽

Training Programme ◽

Care Staff ◽

Intermediate Care ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Self Administration ◽

Frontline Staff ◽

Care Services ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Pharmacy Technicians

Aim To evaluate a medicines reablement initiative involving health and social care, to include consideration of the training package, proportion of patients reabled successfully, and patient and staff perspectives of the service. Background Intermediate care services provide short-term intervention to support patients with chronic conditions transition from hospital to community-based services and involves maximising patients’ independence through reablement. The term ‘medicines reablement’ describes the process of rehabilitating patients to be independent with their medication. Methods Pharmacy technicians led the medicines reablement initiative. They delivered a competency-based training programme for frontline health and social care staff. They assessed and set goals with patients to facilitate independence in self-administration of their medication. The pharmacy technicians provided on-going support to staff helping patients to reable. They reassessed patients after six weeks to determine if medicines reablement had been successful or whether further input was needed. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with pharmacy technicians, frontline staff, managers, and patients. Findings Twenty per cent of patients discharged from hospital to intermediate care were assessed to be suitable for medicines reablement. Of these patients, 44% were successfully reabled and a further 25% benefited from the input of a pharmacy technician. Patients and staff were positive about medicines reablement, emphasising the importance of patients attaining independence for self-administration of medication. Although following training, health and social care staff felt confident in facilitating medicines reablement they valued on-going access to pharmacy technicians for timely support, help with problem solving, and advice throughout the reablement process. Conclusion Medicines reablement can lead to patients becoming independent with taking medication and contribute to staff satisfaction. Pharmacy technicians can play an important part in delivering medicines reablement training to frontline staff and overseeing the reablement process. Further research examining medicines reablement is needed to develop a stronger evidence base.

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Perception of risk of adverse outcomes of older people: comparison between nursing homes, day centers and home care services

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults ◽

10.1108/qaoa-11-2016-0043 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 212-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Laetitia Teixeira ◽

Maria João Azevedo ◽

Sara Alves ◽

Cátia L. Pires ◽

Constança Paúl

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Nursing Homes ◽

Home Care ◽

Older People ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Home Care Services ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

Content Type ◽

Care Services ◽

Screen Instrument

Purpose In Portugal, the three main kinds of care services available for older people are nursing homes, day centers and home care services. The use of these care services is mostly based on complex socioeconomic and functional criteria; however it is not clear if this placement corresponds to a higher/lower risk of adverse outcomes. The purposes of this paper are: to characterize clients of each type of service; to estimate the proportion of individuals at perceived risk of each adverse outcome according to type of service; to assess the ability of the Risk Instrument for Screening in the Community (RISC) to identify the risk profiles according to type of service. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised individuals aged 65+ (n=224), receiving care at home, in day centers or in nursing homes. The identification of individuals at risk for three adverse outcomes (institutionalization, hospitalization and death) was performed using a short pre-screen instrument (RISC). Findings The RISC identified mental state issues as the unique factor that differentiated clients according the type of care services (χ2 (6, N=224)=20.96, p=0.002), with day center presenting the lowest percentage of mental health concerns and nursing home presenting the highest percentage (44.44 and 71.91 percent, respectively). Additionally, a gradient was found between perceived risk of adverse outcomes (institutionalization and hospitalization) and care of levels required. Originality/value The RISC can be used to discriminate people in different settings of care and can be helpful in the selection of groups at risk that will benefit more from available services.

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Perception of Childbirth Experiences of Japanese Women in Bali, Indonesia: A Qualitative Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-30084/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kazuko Tanaka ◽

Ni Made Dian Kurniasari ◽

Desak Nyoman Widyanthini ◽

Ni Luh Putu Suariyani ◽

Rina Listyowati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Postnatal Care ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Perinatal Care ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Japanese Women ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Related Information ◽

Care Services ◽

Japanese Residents ◽

Childbirth Experiences

Abstract Background:Maternal healthcare services in Indonesia have seen dramatic improvements over the past 25 years and yet there is still room for improvement. The perception,by the women,of the perinatalcare provided,is a vital input to further improving theseservices. This study examineshow the perinatal care provided is experienced by Japanese women in Bali, using an interview survey.Methods:We conducted semi-structured interviews, from August to October 2017, with 14 Japanese women living in Badung Regency and Denpasar City in Bali Province, Indonesia to reporttheir perception of the perinatal care they experienced during their pregnancies. The interview guide included among others, the reasons for choosing specific (perinatal care) health facilities and their satisfaction with their experience of using the antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care services. The data were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method.Results:From the interview data, 12 categories across five themes were extracted. Participants reported experiencing various concerns during their pregnancies such as difficulty in obtaining perinatal care related information. Participants,from the beginning of their pregnancies gradually establishedtrusting relationships with midwives, but in many situations, they were disappointed with their childbirth experiences, as they felt that the care provided was not woman-centred.Through their own efforts and with the support of family members and other Japanese residents, many women were able to eventually consider their childbirth experiences as positive. Nonetheless, some women could not overcome their negative impressions even years after childbirth.Conclusions:Participants desired close attention and encouragement from nurses and midwives. Our results suggest that Japanese women in Bali expected a woman-centred perinatal care and active support from nursing/midwifery staff during their pregnancies and postnatal care.

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The feasibility of establishing parent support groups for children with congenital Zika syndrome and their families: a mixed-methods study

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16839.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 158

Author(s):

Tracey Smythe ◽

Veronika Reichenberger ◽

Elisa María Pinzón ◽

Isabel Cristina Hurtado ◽

Luisa Rubiano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Support Groups ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Transport Costs ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Worker Training ◽

Care Services ◽

Group Data ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Congenital Zika Syndrome

Background: The Zika epidemic highlighted gaps in health and social care services for parents of children with developmental disabilities. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a 10-week support group, ‘Juntos’, as a community-based intervention for parents of children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) in Colombia. Methods: Two facilitators delivered ‘Juntos’ to four groups of 8-10 caregivers. One researcher observed each group. Data were collected from: observation notes from 40 sessions, focus group discussions held after each session, pre- post intervention questionnaires with 34 caregivers, and semi-structured interviews conducted with four facilitators, 12 caregivers and three stakeholders. We used the Bowen framework in data analysis. Results: Acceptability and demand for the intervention were high. ‘Juntos’ was largely delivered with fidelity. Practicality was facilitated by providing transport costs and selecting convenient locations. Adaption requirements included additional organisational and social media support. Community health worker training may support integration and the established groups could facilitate programme expansion; however, participants perceived lack of prioritisation as a limitation. Participants’ knowledge and confidence to care for their child improved after programme enrolment. Conclusion: Acceptability, demand and practicality of ‘Juntos’ is high. Yet implementation is challenged by existing health systems gaps in support of children with CZS.

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Veterans Universal Passport: a pilot of a health and social care record for UK ex-service personnel

BMJ Military Health ◽

10.1136/jramc-2019-001288 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. jramc-2019-001288 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lauren Rose Godier-McBard ◽

M Fossey

Keyword(s):

Continuity Of Care ◽

Social Care ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Care Transitions ◽

Patient Empowerment ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Service Personnel ◽

Care Services ◽

Health And Social Care

BackgroundThe transfer of care between different health and social care systems are often associated with poor outcomes and disengagement. Indeed, following the transition from military to civilian life, ex-service personnel report difficulties in navigating civilian health and social care services. Personal healthcare records are associated with a number of benefits, including improved continuity of care and patient empowerment. As such, this pilot project aimed to assess the benefits of the Veterans Universal Passport (VUP) in supporting UK ex-service personnel accessing NHS services.MethodsIn-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight participants (three ex-service personnel, two carers, three health and social care professionals) who had used the VUP. Interviews explored the benefits, challenges and unmet needs associated with the VUP. A thematic analysis was used to identify themes within this framework.ResultsParticipants felt that the VUP improved continuity of care and promoted a feeling of control over care. The military-specific nature of the VUP promoted a sense of identity and provided a ‘support scaffold’ for navigating the complexities of the civilian healthcare system. Challenges included awareness among health and social care professionals, and engagement of users. All participants suggested development into a digital application.ConclusionsFindings suggest that the VUP had a positive impact on veterans’ access to civilian health and social care services, highlighting that it provided a much-needed structure to their journey through treatment. Considering the parallels with other health and social care transitions, translation for other populations may be beneficial.

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Mental Health and Social Care Providers Facing Requests of Assisted suicide from Elderly in Nursing Homes in Switzerland

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.087 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S11-S12

Author(s):

D.A. Castelli Dransart ◽

S. Voélin ◽

S. Elena

Keyword(s):

Nursing Homes ◽

Older People ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Social Care ◽

Home Care Services ◽

Care Providers ◽

Care Services ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Competing Interest

IntroductionIn some Swiss states, right-to-die associations are allowed to assist older people in nursing homes provided that certain requirements are fulfilled.ObjectivesTo investigate how health and social care providers and their institutions reacted to and dealt with requests of assisted suicide.MethodAn exploratory qualitative study was carried out in the States of Fribourg and Vaud among 40 professionals working in nursing homes, home care services or social welfare agencies.ResultsThe requests of assisted suicide questioned the professional mission, the quality of accompaniment provided to the older people and both professional and personal values. Health and social care providers were required to ponder over ethical dilemmas or decisions. Several challenges were reported, such as: taking into account and articulating personal freedom or needs with collective functioning or organizational constraints before, during and after the assisted suicide; reconciliating self-determination with protection towards vulnerable people (beneficere, non maleficere).ConclusionsAssisted suicide challenges and changes professional end-of-life practices. Education and support should be provided to health and social care providers faced with it.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Perception of childbirth experiences of Japanese women in Bali, Indonesia: A qualitative study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-30084/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kazuko Tanaka ◽

Ni Made Dian Kurniasari ◽

Desak Nyoman Widyanthini ◽

Ni Luh Putu Suariyani ◽

Rina Listyowati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Postnatal Care ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Perinatal Care ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Japanese Women ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Related Information ◽

Care Services ◽

Japanese Residents ◽

Childbirth Experiences

Abstract Background: Maternal healthcare services in Indonesia have seen dramatic improvements over the past 25 years and yet there is still room for improvement. The perception, by the women, of the perinatal care provided, is a vital input to further improving these services. This study examines how the perinatal care provided is experienced by Japanese women in Bali, using an interview survey.Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews, from August to October 2017, with 14 Japanese women living in Badung Regency and Denpasar City in Bali Province, Indonesia to report their perception of the perinatal care they experienced during their pregnancies. The interview guide included among others, the reasons for choosing specific (perinatal care) health facilities and their satisfaction with their experience of using the antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care services. The data were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method.Results: From the interview data, 12 categories across five themes were extracted. Participants reported experiencing various concerns during their pregnancies such as difficulty in obtaining perinatal care related information. From the beginning of their pregnancies, participants gradually established trusting relationships with midwives, but in many situations, they were disappointed with their childbirth experiences, as they felt that the care provided was not woman-centred. Through their own efforts and with the support of family members and other Japanese residents, many women were able to eventually regard their childbirth experiences as positive. Nevertheless, some women could not overcome their negative impressions even years after childbirth.Conclusions: Participants desired close attention and encouragement from nurses and midwives. Our results suggest that Japanese women in Bali expected a woman-centred perinatal care and active support from nursing/midwifery staff during their pregnancies and postnatal care.

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