Exploring the Effects of a Golf Program on Psychological and Social Wellbeing for People With Dementia, Carers, and Staff

Author(s):  
Nathan Hill ◽  
Sonia Fihosy ◽  
Paul M. Camic

There is a paucity of evidence regarding the effects of sport and physical activity on wellbeing in dementia. The present study is the first known study to involve golf with this population. People with dementia (n = 10) and carers (n = 5) participated in a 6-week golf program, facilitated by golf center staff (n = 3). Multiple avenues of data collection were utilized and were subject to thematic analysis. Five central themes were identified: emotion, respite, losing the “dementia” label, friendship/camaraderie, and improving relationships. Underlying subthemes were also identified, while potential links between themes were highlighted. Themes were also considered in terms of which participants (person with dementia, carer, and staff) provided evidence for each theme. This study presents preliminary support for the role of golf to enhance the psychological and social wellbeing of people with early stages of dementia, carers, and staff. Potential mechanisms and future research are discussed.

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1794-1810
Author(s):  
Helen Hickman ◽  
Chris Clarke ◽  
Emma Wolverson

Humour is a complex social and emotional experience which could constitute a positive resource for people endeavouring to live well with dementia. However, little is currently known about the shared use and value of humour in dyads where one person has dementia. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore how people with dementia and their care-partners experience, use and draw meaning from humour in relation to their shared experiences of dementia and their ongoing relationships. Ten participant dyads (the person with dementia and their spousal partner) took part in joint semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed eight subthemes that were subsumed under three super-ordinate themes: ‘Humour Has Always Been There (and Always Will Be)’; ‘Withstanding Dementia’ and ‘Renewing the Value of Humour in Dementia’. Overall, the findings suggest that humour, in different forms, can represent a salient and enduring relationship strength that helps dyads maintain well-being and couplehood by providing a buffer against stressors associated with dementia. The findings highlight the potential value of integrating a dyadic perspective with strengths-based approaches in future research into how people live well with dementia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (08) ◽  
pp. 765-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Brækkan ◽  
John-Bjarne Hansen ◽  
Line Evensen

AbstractVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a complex multifactorial disease that represents a growing public health concern. Identification of modifiable risk factors at the population level may provide a measure to reduce the burden of VTE. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of the role of physical activity on the risk of VTE and VTE-related complications. We also discuss methodological challenges related to research on physical activity, and put forward plausible mechanisms for an association between physical activity and VTE. Up to now, published studies have reported diverging results on the relationship between physical activity and VTE, and a complex picture has emerged. However, the available evidence appears to be balanced toward a small beneficial effect of physical activity on the risk of incident VTE, but not in a dose-dependent manner. Still, the lack of an operational definition and standardized assessment method for physical activity, as well as several sources of bias, impairs the interpretation of the available literature. Additional work is necessary to understand the role and how to apply physical activity in the VTE setting. Future research should utilize objective assessment strategies of physical activity and physical fitness, account for the fluctuating nature in habitual activity levels, and explore the role of physical activity in the areas of secondary prevention and VTE-related complications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenessa Banwell ◽  
Gretchen Kerr ◽  
Ashley Stirling

Women remain underrepresented in the coaching domain across various levels of sport both in Canada and internationally. Despite the use of mentorship as a key strategy to support female coaches, little progress has been seen in achieving parity. At the same time, greater advances in gender equity have occurred in other non-sport sectors such as business, engineering, and medicine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn from non-sport domains that have seen advances in gender equity to inform mentorship for women in coaching. A mixed-methods methodology was employed and consisted of distributing mentorship surveys to female coaches (n = 310) at various competitive levels, representing current (88%), former (12%), full-time (26%), part-time (74%), paid (54%), and unpaid (46%) coaching status. In addition, eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were also conducted with women in senior-level positions across various non-sport domains, including business (n = 1), media (n = 1), engineering (n = 2), higher education (n = 1), law (n = 1), and medicine (n = 2), regarding the role of mentorship in advancing women in their field. A descriptive and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data were conducted and findings are interpreted to suggest considerable variation in the characteristics of female coaches’ mentoring relationships, as well as the need to move beyond mentorship to sponsorship for advancing women in coaching. Recommendations for future research and advancing women in coaching are provided.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele J. Kelly ◽  
Tim Luckett ◽  
Josephine M. Clayton ◽  
Liam Gabb ◽  
Slavica Kochovska ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundAdvance care planning (ACP) is identified as being an important process for people with dementia. However, its efficacy for improving outcomes relevant for the individual, carers and the health system has yet to be established.AimWe conducted a systematic review with the aims of testing the efficacy of ACP for people with dementia and describing the settings and population in which it has been evaluated.MethodsA search was completed of electronic databases in August 2016. Articles were included if they described interventions aimed at increasing planning for future care of people with dementia, delivered to the person with dementia, their carers and/or health professionals.ResultsOf 4,772 articles returned by searches, 30 met the inclusion criteria, testing interventions in nursing home (n= 16) community (n = 10) and acute care (n = 4) settings. Only 18 interventions directly involved the person with dementia, with the remainder focusing on surrogate decision-makers. In all settings, interventions were found effective in increasing ACP practice. In nursing homes, ACP was found to influence care and increase the concordance between end of life wishes and care provided. Interventions in the community were found to improve patient quality of life but were not shown to influence concordance.ConclusionFuture research should focus on ways to involve people with dementia in decision-making through supported means.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e030829
Author(s):  
Becky Field ◽  
Gail Mountain ◽  
Jane Burgess ◽  
Laura Di Bona ◽  
Daniel Kelleher ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo share the challenges of recruiting people with dementia to studies, using experiences from one recently completed trial as an exemplar.BackgroundResearch publications always cite participant numbers but the effort expended to achieve the sample size is rarely reported, even when the study involved recruiting a hard to reach population. A multisite study of a psychosocial intervention for people with dementia illustrates the challenges. This study recruited 468 ‘dyads’ (a person with dementia and a family carer together) from 15 sites but the time taken to achieve this was longer than originally estimated. This led to a study extension and the need for additional sites. Recruitment data revealed that certain sites were more successful than others, but why? Can the knowledge gained be used to inform other studies?MethodsSecondary analysis of routinely collected recruitment data from three purposefully selected sites was examined to understand the strategies used and identify successful approaches.FindingsAt all three sites, the pool of potential recruits funnelled to a few participants. It took two sites 18 months longer than the third to achieve recruitment numbers despite additional efforts. Explanations given by potential participants for declining to take part included ill health, reporting they were ‘managing’, time constraints, adjusting to a diagnosis of dementia and burden of study procedures.ConclusionsSuccessful recruitment of people with dementia to studies, as one example of a hard to reach group, requires multiple strategies and close working between researchers and clinical services. It requires a detailed understanding of the needs and perspectives of the specific population and knowledge about how individuals can be supported to participate in research. Experiences of recruitment should be disseminated so that knowledge generated can be used to inform the planning and implementation of future research studies.


2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert I. Karpatkin

Compared with other neurologic disorders, relatively little literature exists to define or support the role of exercise in MS. This review describes issues relating to exercise in patients with MS, discusses relevant literature, offers exercise guidelines for persons with MS, and suggests topics for future research. Unique aspects of MS that affect physical therapy are addressed, including disease progression, fatigue, and thermosensitivity. Review of the literature includes discussion of strength training, aerobic exercise, and respiratory training. While physical activity was once contraindicated in persons with MS, current literature supports its therapeutic benefits in these patients. More research could be focused on the specific types of exercise appropriate for this patient population.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna-Mari Pesonen ◽  
Anne M Remes ◽  
Arja Isola

This article is based on a qualitative longitudinal study that followed the subjective experiences of both people living with dementia and their family members during the early stages of the illness. The purpose of this article is to describe and reflect on the ethical and methodological issues that occurred during data collection. The article focuses on the situation of the person with dementia and the family member and the role of the researcher when conducting the research interviews. Based on the results of this study, conducting research interviews with people with dementia and their family members poses several ethical and methodological challenges that must be addressed. In doing so, ethically sound dementia-specific research methods will be actively developed enhancing our understanding of living with dementia and providing new insights into the care of people with dementia and their family members.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1304-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren R. Bangerter ◽  
Joan M. Griffin ◽  
Steven H. Zarit ◽  
Rachel Havyer

While dementia caregivers are regarded as a population with high unmet needs, there is little consensus as to how caregivers’ needs should be conceptualized and measured. This article describes how dementia caregivers’ needs are currently assessed in the scientific literature with the goal of suggesting guidelines for the enhancement of future measurement of caregiver needs. A review of 26 articles identified overarching themes within measurement approaches including variation in methodological rigor, proxy indicators of need, dual needs assessment of caregiver and person with dementia (PWD), and third-party needs assessment. We recommend future research dedicate theoretical attention to the conceptualization and classification of caregivers’ needs to build a stronger foundation for measurement. The measurement development process should capitalize on mixed-methodology and follow instrument development and validation guidelines set forth by measurement theory. Reliable and valid instruments are essential to developing services and policies that address dementia caregivers’ needs.


TEME ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
Stefan Ninković ◽  
Stanislava Marić Jurišin ◽  
Borka Malčić

The aim of study was to investigate the effects of parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety on outdoor physical activities of preschool children. This was investigated based on a moderating role of a child's gender and parents' age. The results showed that the association of parents’ perceptions of neighborhood safety on outdoor physical activities of children depended of the child’s sex and the parents’ age. Boys whose parents were younger and who positively assessed the neighborhood safety were more inclined to outdoor physical activities. Female children whose parents were below the average age the perceived neighborhood safety hindered frequent outdoor playing. The paper discusses practical implications of the obtained results and recommendations for future research.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoria Hoel ◽  
Carine Mendom Feunou ◽  
Karin Wolf-Ostermann

Abstract Background The impact of dementia on communication capabilities can result in difficulties in social interactions and between people with dementia and their conversation partner, as initiating and maintaining conversations becomes increasingly challenging. The role of technology in promoting social health and participation for people with dementia is increasing, but the usage on technological devices as a third party in social interactions to enhance communication quality is still in its infancy. The objective of this literature review is to provide a comprehensive description of technology-driven interventions for people with dementia and their conversation partners to enhance communication and facilitate positive social interactions. Methods A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO, where titles and abstracts were screened by two researchers independently. The reference lists of initially identified papers were hand-searched for further relevant studies. Quality appraisal of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.Results Twenty-six papers were included., where the most common technologies to facilitate communication and interactions were tablet-computers (n=11), social robots (n=7) and PCs (n=4). By analyzing the impacts of the device(s) on social interaction and communication, five major themes emerged: i) increased interaction; ii) better understanding of the person with dementia; iii) improved conversational quality; iv) reducing pressure on the conversation partner; and v) a conversational platform.Conclusion While the majority of the included studies are small-scale, they indicate promising findings on the potential of technology in helping dyads to interact in a way that relieves strain on the caregiver, enhances the relationship and engages people with dementia in social activities. Rigorous investigation using standard, comparable measurements is needed to demonstrate the effects of technological solutions, taking on the perspective on caregiving dyads as an entity rather than looking at outcomes for one member of the dyad in isolation.


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