scholarly journals Health Professional Perspectives on Rehabilitation for People With Dementia

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Cations ◽  
Natalie May ◽  
Maria Crotty ◽  
Lee-Fay Low ◽  
Lindy Clemson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Pathway Analyses

Abstract Background and Objectives Multidisciplinary rehabilitation is not incorporated into the usual care pathway for dementia despite increasing demand from key advocates. Clinician views regarding the relevance of rehabilitation in dementia care are not well known. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of health professionals regarding barriers to provision of multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs for people with dementia. Research Design and Methods Sixteen health professionals from a variety of settings and professional backgrounds were purposively sampled using maximum variation sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore attitudes toward the care of people with dementia and beliefs about the feasibility and value of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in this population. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. Results Participating clinicians acknowledged problems with existing dementia care pathways in Australia but rarely conceptualized rehabilitation as relevant to this pathway. Analyses yielded two main and related themes: (i) difficulty defining worthwhile outcomes of a rehabilitation program for people with dementia and (ii) perceived barriers to participation in this population. Clinicians felt that achievable outcomes for people with dementia were not sufficiently worthwhile for investment. Discussion and Implications Broader acceptance of multidisciplinary rehabilitation as relevant to dementia care will require a reframing of practice that both educates emerging health professionals regarding the outcomes that may be achievable for people with dementia and persuades staff to appreciate that the investment is worthwhile.

Health Professionals’ Recommendations for a Dementia Plan for China

2021 ◽  
pp. 073346482110220
Author(s):  
Wenhong Zhao ◽  
Min-Lin Wu ◽  
Helen Petsky ◽  
Wendy Moyle
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Daycare Centers ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Support Family

There is no specific national dementia plan concerning people with dementia in China. The purpose of this study was to explore health professionals’ recommendations for a dementia plan for China to meet the needs of people with dementia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 doctors and nurses using purposive maximum variation sampling. Data were interpreted inductively using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified. Themes on policy recommendations emphasized a need to support people with dementia and those who care for them, including the development of community daycare centers, specialized dementia care units in hospitals, and specialized nursing homes. Improvement in dementia care in China is needed, including services across all care settings. Programs to train and support family caregivers and help health professionals to detect, diagnose and treat dementia are crucial. Further support for the families of people with dementia is required.

Library services enriching community engagement for dementia care: The Tales & Travels Program at a Canadian Public Library as a case study

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110651
Author(s):  
Jiamin Dai ◽  
Joan C. Bartlett ◽  
Karyn Moffatt
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Based ◽  
People With Dementia

Growing dementia-friendly library services are contributing to community-based dementia care. Emerging community programs in libraries and museums provide notable opportunities for promoting engagement and inclusivity, but these programs have yet to receive in-depth assessments and analyses to guide future research and practice. This paper presents a case study examining a social and storytelling program for people with dementia run by a Canadian public library. It investigates two research questions: How can public library programs contribute to community-based dementia care? And what are public libraries’ strengths and challenges in running programs for people with dementia? The study involves participant observations of the program and semi-structured interviews with people with dementia, caregivers, and program facilitators (librarians and Alzheimer Society coordinators). Through thematic analysis of fieldnotes and transcripts, the study reveals how this inclusive platform supports engagement, fosters relationships, helps caregivers, and reaches broader communities. This research further uncovers the librarians’ diversified roles as demonstrated through their collaboration with professionals, preparation and research, and facilitation of the sessions. This paper advances librarianship research on enriching community-based dementia care, including furthering inclusivity and engagement and extending accessible library services. By analyzing library programming for the dementia community and assessing its strengths and challenges, the paper highlights librarians’ awareness of the community’s evolving needs and their collaboration with other professionals. It offers practical insights on useful resources and emerging best practices that will hopefully inspire other initiatives in which information professionals can help improve the well-being of vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals Personalisation, customisation and bricolage: how people with dementia and their families make assistive technology work for them

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2502-2519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Gibson ◽  
Claire Dickinson ◽  
Katie Brittain ◽  
Louise Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Everyday Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Manage Care ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
Care Services ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
The Everyday

AbstractAssistive technologies (ATs) are being ‘mainstreamed’ within dementia care, where they are promoted as enabling people with dementia to age in place alongside delivering greater efficiencies in care. AT provision focuses upon standardised solutions, with little known about how ATs are used by people with dementia and their carers within everyday practice. This paper explores how people with dementia and carers use technologies in order to manage care. Findings are reported from qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 people with dementia and 26 family carers. Readily available household technologies were used in conjunction with and instead of AT to address diverse needs, replicating AT functions when doing so. Successful technology use was characterised by ‘bricolage’ or the non-conventional use of tools or methods to address local needs. Carers drove AT use by engaging creatively with both assistive and everyday technologies, however, carers were not routinely supported in their creative engagements with technology by statutory health or social care services, making bricolage a potentially frustrating and wasteful process. Bricolage provides a useful framework to understand how technologies are used in the everyday practice of dementia care, and how technology use can be supported within care. Rather than implementing standardised AT solutions, AT services and AT design in future should focus on how technologies can support more personalised, adaptive forms of care.

Singapore

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kua Ee Heok ◽  
Iris Rawtaer
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Day Care Centres ◽  
Set Up

The main caregivers of elderly people with dementia in Singapore are the family. In recent years, community services like day care centres, home care, respite care, and nursing homes have expanded. Non-governmental organizations are actively involved in providing a spectrum of services, ranging from medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and counselling. General hospitals have set up geriatric and psycho-geriatric teams for dementia patients. There is now a focus on dementia prevention, and a successful prevention programme has been extended to three additional community centres. The challenge ahead is not only having sufficient dementia services, but also ensuring there are sufficient trained health professionals to provide the services. Current strengths in dementia care include strong emphasis on family care, increased availability of dementia community services like day care centres, and increased number of health professionals trained in dementia care. Future priorities include integrating hospital care into the community, keeping down the cost of dementia care, and creating dementia-friendly environments.

The ethical evaluation of assistive technology for practitioners: a checklist arising from a participatory study with people with dementia, family and professionals

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Godwin
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Evaluation ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Monitoring And Surveillance ◽  
At Home

PurposeUncertainty over ethical impact may hinder uptake of assistive technology (AT) in dementia. This study aims to examine whether AT contributes to person‐centred care, whether users can participate in research and to explore ethical dilemmas with users, family and professional carers.Design/methodology/approachPeople with dementia, at home or in residential care, and carers were allocated equipment and consulted about ethics. In a small, qualitative study, data were collected using semi‐structured interviews and vignettes and content‐analysed to establish themes.FindingsAT in person‐centred dementia care requires meticulous assessment, reliability and availability in rapidly evolving situations. Users displayed insight, logic and empathy in ethical evaluation. They disliked remote monitoring and surveillance, whereas carers were pragmatic, prioritising safety.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides further evidence that users with dementia can be included in research. It demonstrates a significant potential role for AT in dementia care, with an ethical checklist to help professionals evaluate ethical dilemmas.Originality/valueAT potentially increases wellbeing, enabling users to remain longer at home, delaying or avoiding moves to or between homes.

Perspectives of the community-based dementia care workforce: “occupational communion” a key finding from the Work 4 Dementia Project

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 765-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate-Ellen J. Elliott ◽  
Christine M. Stirling ◽  
Angela J. Martin ◽  
Andrew L. Robinson ◽  
Jennifer L. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Job Roles ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Strong Attachment

ABSTRACTBackground: Community care workers’ experience of delivering support to people with dementia is less researched than that of residential workers. The purpose of the study is to explore community-based dementia care workers’ perspectives about their roles and the contextual variables that impact upon their work experiences.Method: A qualitative design was employed. Twenty-five community dementia care workers (average age 53 years, majority female and employed casually) participated in standardized semi-structured interviews about their job roles, training, employer agenda, organizational support, and intention to stay. A deductive approach to Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was adopted to identify key themes.Results: Three themes highlighted workers’ experiences. Occupational communion described strong attachment to clients and a desire for greater connection with colleagues. Job demands described the challenges of work, which varied with intensity. Job resources ranged from positive (strong organizational commitment) to negative (poor pay and conditions). Occupational communion was identified as a concept that exists at the interface between social and organization psychology that was perceived to be essential for adaptive coping. Identifying themes informed a conceptual model for designing intervention components aimed at improving workers’ skills, capabilities, and employer supportive functions.Conclusion: Occupational communion may be particularly relevant for women's caring careers and future research is needed to explore the relevance of this concept for men. To determine reliable change associated with interventions that target occupational communion, further investigation is required in relation to measurement approaches.

scholarly journals A Little Help from My Friends: Social Support in Palliative Rehabilitation

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Rutkowski ◽  
S. Lebel ◽  
K. Richardson ◽  
B. Mutsaers ◽  
M. Chasen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Auditory Impairments ◽  
Supportive Needs

Background Social support has been shown to buffer some difficulties of living with advanced cancer. The Palliative Rehabilitation Program (prp) was an interdisciplinary outpatient program offering post-treatment palliative rehabilitation to patients with advanced cancer. Social support was directly integrated into the program. The aim of the present study was to examine the types and sources of social support that patients found most beneficial.Methods Twelve patients participated in 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to explore the social support experiences of those patients in the prp. Patients were eligible to participate in the interview if they had completed the 8-week prp, spoke English, and did not have cognitive or auditory impairments affecting their ability to participate.Results The main sources of support reported by participants were team members and spouse, family, or close friends; peers attending the program; and spiritual beliefs. Social support varied based on sex and age, such that, compared with women, men reported relying less on social support, and the supportive needs of younger (≤50 years of age) and older participants differed. Team members were endorsed as frequently as family as social support.Discussion Emotional support was endorsed with the greatest frequency. The members of the interdisciplinary care team were also providers of emotional and informational support for patients, bolstering the support received from caregivers. Widowed or divorced women might rely on health care providers more readily than do married men, who chose their wives as support. Future rehabilitation programs might consider the importance of an interdisciplinary team, the formal integration of caregivers, and the incorporation of spirituality to meet the unique supportive needs of patients with advanced cancer.

Age, Dementia, and Diagnostic Candidacy: Examining the Diagnosis of Young Onset Dementia Using the Candidacy Framework

2020 ◽  
pp. 104973232097019
Author(s):  
Sheila Novek ◽  
Verena H. Menec
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Young Onset ◽  
Treatment Gaps ◽  
Canadian City ◽  
Young Onset Dementia

People living with young onset dementia face significant barriers to diagnosis, resulting in delays, misdiagnoses, and treatment gaps. We examined the process of accessing and delivering a diagnosis of young onset dementia using the candidacy framework as a conceptual lens. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six people living with dementia, 14 family members, and 16 providers in a western Canadian city. Participants’ accounts revealed the diagnosis of young onset dementia as a negotiated process involving patients, family members, and health professionals. Assumptions about age and dementia affected how participants interpreted their symptoms, how they presented to services, and how they, in turn, were perceived by providers. At the organizational level, age-restrictions, fragmentation, and unclear referral pathways further complicated the diagnostic process. Our findings lend support to the growing call for specialist young onset dementia care and point toward several recommendations to develop more age-inclusive diagnostic services.

scholarly journals Designing Dementia Care Pathways to Transform Non Dementia-Friendly Hospitals: Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9296
Author(s):  
Jorge Riquelme-Galindo ◽  
Manuel Lillo-Crespo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Hospital Environments ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Core Elements

People with dementia (PwD) occupy around 25% of the hospital beds. Once PwD are admitted to hospitals, their cognitive impairment is not considered in most of the cases. Thus, it causes an impact on the development of the disease becoming a stressful situation as care plans are not adapted to PwD. The aim of this study was to explore the published core elements when designing a dementia care pathway for hospital settings. A scoping review was conducted to provide an overview of the available research evidence and identify the knowledge gaps regarding the topic. This review highlights person-centered care, compassionate care and end-of-life process as some of the key elements that should integrate the framework when designing a dementia care pathway. Architectonical outdoor and indoor hospital elements have also been found to be considered when adapting the healthcare context to PwD. Findings provide information about the key points to focus on to successfully design dementia interventions in hospital environments within available resources, mostly in those contexts in which national dementia plans are in its infancy. Hospitals should transform their patients’ routes and processes considering the increasing demographic changes of people with cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Experiences of Community-Dwelling Older People With Dementia Participating In A Person-Centered Multidimensional Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Program 

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Sondell ◽  
Josefine Lampinen ◽  
Mia Conradsson ◽  
Håkan Littbrand ◽  
Undis Englund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
Community Dwelling Older People

Abstract Background: There is a great need for the development of feasible rehabilitation interventions for older people with dementia. An increased understanding of this population’s experiences of rehabilitation program participation is therefore important. The purpose of this study was to explore how community-dwelling older people with dementia experienced their participation in a person-centered multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.Methods: Sixteen older people with dementia were interviewed about their experiences of participation in a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program. The program comprised assessments by a comprehensive team followed by a rehabilitation period of 16 weeks among people with dementia and their informal primary caregivers. The interviews were conducted in close conjunction with the rehabilitation visits and analysed with qualitative content analysis.Results: The analysis resulted in one overarching theme: Empowered through participation and togetherness and four sub-themes: Being strengthened through challenges; Gaining insights, motives, and raising concerns about the future; Being seen makes participation worthwhile; and Feelings of togetherness in prosperity and adversity. The participants increased their self-esteem by daring and coping in the rehabilitation. The insights about themselves and their condition motivated them to continue with their prioritized activities, but also raised concerns about how the future would play out. Collaboration in the group and being seen and acknowledged by staff strengthened their own motivation and self-efficacy. Conclusion: A person-centered multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program seems feasible among community-dwelling older people with dementia according to reported experiences. The participants seemed empowered through the rehabilitation and reported mostly positive experiences and perceived improvements, which seemed to affect their wellbeing and daily life. Providers of interdisciplinary rehabilitation programs for this group should consider aspects raised by the participants e.g. the positive experience of being challenged in both exercise and daily activities; the importance of being seen and feeling secure; the benefits and challenges of collaboration with others in the same situation; and the generation of new perspectives of current and future situation. Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN59155421.http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN59155421. Registered November 3 2015.

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