Professional carers’ experiences of caring for individuals with intellectual disability and dementia

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Cleary ◽  
Owen Doody

The number of people with intellectual disability living into old age and developing dementia continues to increase. Dementia presents a wide range of challenges for staff due to progressive deterioration. This article presents the findings from a narrative literature review of professional caregivers’ experiences of caring for individuals with intellectual disability and dementia. Seven electronic databases were searched using Boolean operators and truncation to identify relevant literature. Search results were combined and narrowed to articles relevant to staff working with individuals with intellectual disability and dementia, and 14 articles met the criteria for review. Themes outlined in the review include staff knowledge of dementia, staff training in dementia, caregiving, challenging behaviour, pain management, mealtime support and coping strategies. Overall carers must review and adjust their care delivery and support to people with intellectual disability and dementia, not only in terms of identifying and responding to their health needs but also through collaborative team working within and across services.

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1417
Author(s):  
Yamila M. Omar ◽  
Peter Plapper

Information entropy metrics have been applied to a wide range of problems that were abstracted as complex networks. This growing body of research is scattered in multiple disciplines, which makes it difficult to identify available metrics and understand the context in which they are applicable. In this work, a narrative literature review of information entropy metrics for complex networks is conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Existing entropy metrics are classified according to three different criteria: whether the metric provides a property of the graph or a graph component (such as the nodes), the chosen probability distribution, and the types of complex networks to which the metrics are applicable. Consequently, this work identifies the areas in need for further development aiming to guide future research efforts.


10.2196/24588 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e24588
Author(s):  
Vasileios Nittas ◽  
Milo Alan Puhan ◽  
Viktor von Wyl

Background The wide availability of internet-connected devices and new sensor technologies increasingly infuse longitudinal observational study designs and cohort studies. Simultaneously, the costly and time-consuming nature of traditional cohorts has given rise to alternative, technology-driven designs such as eCohorts, which remain inadequately described in the scientific literature. Objective The aim of this study was to outline and discuss what may constitute an eCohort, as well as to formulate a first working definition for health researchers based on a review of the relevant literature. Methods A two-staged review and synthesis process was performed comparing 10 traditional cohorts and 10 eCohorts across the six core steps in the life cycle of cohort designs. Results eCohorts are a novel type of technology-driven cohort study that are not physically linked to a clinical setting, follow more relaxed and not necessarily random sampling procedures, are primarily based on self-reported and digitally collected data, and systematically aim to leverage the internet and digitalization to achieve flexibility, interactivity, patient-centeredness, and scalability. This approach comes with some hurdles such as data quality, generalizability, and privacy concerns. Conclusions eCohorts have similarities to their traditional counterparts; however, they are sufficiently distinct to be treated as a separate type of cohort design. The novelty of eCohorts is associated with a range of strengths and weaknesses that require further exploration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leepile A. Sehularo ◽  
Boitumelo J. Molato ◽  
Isaac O. Mokgaola ◽  
Gopolang Gause

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is understandable that nurses are working under stressful conditions. A successful use of effective coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic will help nurses to manage stressful conditions.Aim: The objective of this narrative literature review was to explore and describe the coping strategies used by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.Setting: This study was conducted from all available literature related to the coping strategies used by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic globally.Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted to answer researchers’ concern of coping strategies used by nurses during COVID-19. The purposive sampling technique was used to select three online databases that were used to search for the relevant literature, namely Google Scholar, Science Direct and African Journals (formerly SAePublications). Search terms used to conduct this study include coping, coping strategies, nurses, nursing and COVID-19 pandemic. This study included English studies focusing on coping strategies used by nurses during COVID-19 published between 2019 and 2021. The study excluded newspaper articles, conference reports and other databases not mentioned in this study.Results: The findings identified the following strategies: use of COVID-19 protective measures, avoidance strategy, social support, faith-based practices, psychological support and management support are used by nurses as coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion: The use of the identified coping strategies by nurses may reduce stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations were made for future research, nursing education and practice.Contribution: This is the first narrative literature review focusing on the coping strategies used by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this narrative literature review provide insight that may be used by nurses of all categories to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic.


10.2196/14684 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. e14684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chukwuma Ukoha ◽  
Andrew Stranieri

Background With the growing use of social media in health care settings, there is a need to measure outcomes resulting from its use to ensure continuous performance improvement. Despite the need for measurement, a unified approach for measuring the value of social media used in health care remains elusive. Objective This study aimed to elucidate how the value of social media in health care settings can be ascertained and to taxonomically identify steps and techniques in social media measurement from a review of relevant literature. Methods A total of 65 relevant articles drawn from 341 articles on the subject of measuring social media in health care settings were qualitatively analyzed and synthesized. The articles were selected from the literature from diverse disciplines including business, information systems, medical informatics, and medicine. Results The review of the literature showed different levels and focus of analysis when measuring the value of social media in health care settings. It equally showed that there are various metrics for measurement, levels of measurement, approaches to measurement, and scales of measurement. Each may be relevant, depending on the use case of social media in health care. Conclusions A comprehensive yardstick is required to simplify the measurement of outcomes resulting from the use of social media in health care. At the moment, there is neither a consensus on what indicators to measure nor on how to measure them. We hope that this review is used as a starting point to create a comprehensive measurement criterion for social media used in health care.


Author(s):  
Alfredo Raglio ◽  
Enrico Oddone ◽  
Lara Morotti ◽  
Yasmin Khreiwesh ◽  
Chiara Zuddas ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundMusic is widely used in clinical and rehabilitative fields and recently also in the field of Occupational Medicine. This review aims at selecting the evidence-based studies regarding music interventions in workplaces.MethodsIn order to carry out a narrative literature review, two independent pairs of investigators searched in PubMed and PsycInfo databases to select Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) or Clinical Controlled Trials (CCTs) in English regarding music and music therapy interventions in workplaces; the trials were published in peer-reviewed journals from January 2000 to February 2017.ResultsFourteen articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Among these, ten were RCTs and four CCTs. The vast majority of RCTs were conducted on students or medical personnel (n=8), while only a few RCTs (n=2) were carried out on air traffic controllers or sick leave workers. Firefighters, computer systems developers, nursing students and office workers were studied through a CCT study design (n=4).ConclusionsPsychological factors, communication, rehabilitative outcomes and cognitive and work performances seem to be the principal areas of interest in the field of music and occupational medicine, with possible economic benefits. Future studies should adopt rigorous methodological criteria to carry out larger samples on a wide range of professional categories and music/music therapy interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110294
Author(s):  
Ravit Alfandari ◽  
Brian J. Taylor

The aim of this systematic narrative literature review is to explore empirical evidence as to how a multiprofessional approach to child protection decision making is implemented in hospitals settings. Child protection cases where there is a suspicious serious injury suspected sexual abuse or serious neglect are often investigated in hospital, involving a number of relevant professions. Five electronic bibliographic databases were used for the search. To be included in the review studies had to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, report on empirical research, be available full text in English, and have used an identifiable research design. The search was restricted to 10 years, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019, and retrieved 6,934 studies. The review includes 26 studies undertaken in 10 countries. In all the hospital-based settings studied, child protection decision-making tasks were assigned to a designated multiprofessional team. However, there was remarkable diversity in models of team structure, regulation of workflow, structured procedures, and standardized tools through which practice was carried out. Research focused on evaluating the teams’ effectiveness in fulfilling their duties which were, first and foremost, the identification of possible child maltreatment. The analysis identifies various systemic approaches and quality improvement methods to promote effective team-based decision-making processes in hospitals. The interactional aspect of collaborative team-based practice was generally missing from the published research. This article discusses next steps for the development of practice, policy, and research to enhance useful multiprofessional child protection team working in hospitals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasileios Nittas ◽  
Milo Alan Puhan ◽  
Viktor von Wyl

BACKGROUND The wide availability of internet-connected devices and new sensor technologies increasingly infuse longitudinal observational study designs and cohort studies. Simultaneously, the costly and time-consuming nature of traditional cohorts has given rise to alternative, technology-driven designs such as eCohorts, which remain inadequately described in the scientific literature. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to outline and discuss what may constitute an eCohort, as well as to formulate a first working definition for health researchers based on a review of the relevant literature. METHODS A two-staged review and synthesis process was performed comparing 10 traditional cohorts and 10 eCohorts across the six core steps in the life cycle of cohort designs. RESULTS eCohorts are a novel type of technology-driven cohort study that are not physically linked to a clinical setting, follow more relaxed and not necessarily random sampling procedures, are primarily based on self-reported and digitally collected data, and systematically aim to leverage the internet and digitalization to achieve flexibility, interactivity, patient-centeredness, and scalability. This approach comes with some hurdles such as data quality, generalizability, and privacy concerns. CONCLUSIONS eCohorts have similarities to their traditional counterparts; however, they are sufficiently distinct to be treated as a separate type of cohort design. The novelty of eCohorts is associated with a range of strengths and weaknesses that require further exploration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 249-262
Author(s):  
Špela Selak ◽  
Olatz Albaina Bakaikoa ◽  
Branko Gabrovec

An increase in age-related disability and dependence is an almost inevitable consequence of population ageing, whereas frailty seems to be highly prevalent among older adults with prevalence ranging from 5 % to more than 45 %. Among the potential ways to face the challenges of ageing society are healthcare services supported by the use of information and communication technologies. The aim of this research was to define the information and communication technologies used to support the management of frailty, its effects and related challenges within joint action Advantage. A narrative literature review of peer-reviewed literature, using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Cinahl and UpToDate databases was carried out. The search resulted in a total of 124634 articles. After excluding duplicates and taking into account inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 sources remained for analysis. The results indicate multidimensional usage of information and communication technologies and show that a wide range of potentially beneficial information and communication technology solutions have been developed, covering prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring to enable older adults to remain independent at home, support caregivers, facilitate remote monitoring and self-management, provide decision support, improve information sharing and coordination of services, support daily activities etc. Many information and communication technologies have a potential to prevent and manage frailty, especially in the domain of physical activity and exercise, social resources and psychological state, falls prevention, support to daily activities and overall well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence on the outcomes of information and communication technologies’ use related to older adults, and their adoption and implementation seem to remain problematic as well. Therefore, strategic approach should be used to support further research as well as to address and foster implementation and (wider) adoption of health-related information and communication technologies.


Author(s):  
Kerith Duncanson ◽  
David Schmidt ◽  
Emma Webster

PurposeWritten feedback on research-related writing is an important educational component of novice researcher development. Limited evidence exists to inform effective written feedback, particularly in relation to research reports by novice researchers. The aim of this narrative literature review was to explore supervisor and novice researcher perspectives on the provision of written feedback, particularly in the context of their evolving supervisory relationship. MethodsA systematic search of peer-reviewed journals in educational and health databases was undertaken for the terms ‘written feedback’ and ‘research report’, from January 2001 to August 2020. Identified literature was critiqued for methodological quality. Findings were coded, grouped and described as themes. Next, the themes and their parts were applied to the development of a two-part written feedback checklist that includes separate but related recommendations for supervisors and novice researchers.FindingsFrom 35 included papers, the four main themes that related to written feedback on research reports by novice researchers were: the emotional impact of receiving or giving written feedback; written feedback in the supervisory power dynamic; communicating written feedback; and the content and structure of written feedback. The changing nature and complexity of factors associated with written feedback from research supervisors reflected the transition from a supervisory relationship to a peer relationship. The checklist developed from the synthesised data is intended to provide guidance for supervisors and students about their respective and shared responsibilities within a supervisory relationship.  ImplicationsIncreased awareness of the characteristics, roles and impact of written feedback will assist supervisors of novice researchers to provide effective written feedback, and for students to effectively utilise written feedback. Progression of written feedback throughout the supervisory period is proposed as a means of transitioning from a teacher-student to a peer researcher relationship. 


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