Supporting people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-68
Author(s):  
Linda Nazarko
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care Practice ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Practice Nurse ◽  
Informal Support ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Practice Nurses ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Social Care

People with dementia have experienced great disruption to their lives due to the pandemic. Linda Nazarko highlights the way individuals have been affected and how the practice nurse can support them People with dementia and their caregivers have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation, a reduction in formal and informal support, and disruption to routine have contributed to feelings of loneliness and anxiety in people with dementia and their caregivers. The pandemic has led to staff shortages in health and social care, changes of care workers and a reduction in the level of support provided. These changes have affected the physical and mental health of people with dementia and increased their reliance on primary care. Practice nurses have a key role to play in supporting affected individuals.

scholarly journals Refugee-like migrants have similar health needs to refugees: a New Zealand post-settlement cohort study

BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101013
Author(s):  
Jonathan Donald Kennedy ◽  
Serena Moran ◽  
Sue Garrett ◽  
James Stanley ◽  
Jenny Visser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Primary Care Practice ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Outpatient Service ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Health And Social Care

BackgroundRefugees and asylum seekers have specific health and social care needs on arrival in a resettlement country. A third group — migrants with a refugee-like background (refugee-like migrants) — are less well defined or understood.AimUsing routinely collected data, this study compared demographics, interpreter need, and healthcare utilisation for cohorts of refugee-like migrants and refugees.Design & settingA retrospective cohort study was undertaken in Wellington, New Zealand.MethodData were obtained for refugee-like migrants and refugees accepted under the national quota system (quota refugees), who enrolled in a New Zealand primary care practice between 2011 and 2015. Data from the primary care practice and nationally held hospital and outpatient service databases, were analysed. Age and sex standardisation adjusted for possible differences in cohort demographic profiles.ResultsThe cohorts were similar in age, sex, deprivation, and interpreter need. Refugee-like migrants were found to have similar, but not identical, health and social care utilisation to quota refugees. Primary care nurse utilisation was higher for refugee-like migrants. Clinical entries in the primary care patient record were similar in rate for the cohorts. Emergency department utilisation and hospital admissions were similar. Hospital outpatient utilisation was lower for refugee-like migrants.ConclusionThis research suggests that health, social care, and other resettlement services should be aligned for refugee-like migrants and quota refugees. This would mean that countries accepting quota refugees should plan for health and social care needs of subsequent refugee-like migrant family migration. Further research should investigate matched larger-scale national health and immigration datasets, and qualitatively explore factors influencing health-seeking behaviour of refugee-like migrants.

scholarly journals Predictors and rates of PTSD, depression and anxiety in UK frontline health and social care workers during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1882781
Author(s):  
Talya Greene ◽  
Jasmine Harju-Seppänen ◽  
Mariam Adeniji ◽  
Charlotte Steel ◽  
Nick Grey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Care ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Social Care

scholarly journals 211 - Changes to post-diagnostic dementia support in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 13-13
Author(s):  
Alison Wheatley ◽  
Marie Poole ◽  
Louise Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Care ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Full Time ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Team Meetings ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Diagnostic Support

Background:The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated widespread change across health and social care in England and Wales. A series of lockdowns and UK Government guidance designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 which emphasised social distancing and increased use of personal protective equipment led to changes such as increased use of remote consultation technologies and the closure of services deemed non-essential. This included many services for people with dementia and their families, such as day centres and dementia cafes.Objective:To explore the changes made to services during the pandemic and the impact of these changes on the delivery of good post-diagnostic dementia support.Method:Professionals who had previously been recruited to the ongoing PriDem qualitative study were approached for follow up interview. Eighteen interviews with a total of 21 professionals working in health, social care and the third sector were conducted using telephone or video conferencing.Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and checked prior to thematic analysis.Results:Key themes emerging from preliminary analysis of the data include: uncertainty about the future and the need to adapt quickly to shifting guidance; changing job roles and ways of working; the emotional and physical impact of the pandemic on staff working with people with dementia and their families; and the impact of changes made (e.g. increased PPE, remote working) on the ability to deliver post-diagnostic support. However, there were also some unintended positive outcomes of the changes. These included the ability to include family members living at a distance in remote consultations, allowing for more robust history-taking, as well as the uptake of technology to facilitate cross-sector and multidisciplinary working between professionals.Conclusion:Delivering post-diagnostic dementia support during COVID-19 was challenging and forced dementia services to make adaptations. Participants expected that some of these changes would be incorporated into post-pandemic work, for example increased use of technology for multidisciplinary team meetings or blended approaches to patient-facing services involving both virtual and face to face work as appropriate. However, most participants agreed that it was not appropriate nor desirable to provide fully remote post-diagnostic support on a full time basis.

scholarly journals Systematic Review Investigating Multi-disciplinary Team Approaches to Screening and Early Diagnosis of Dementia in Primary Care – What are the Positive and Negative Effects and Who Should Deliver It?

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Smith ◽  
Jane Cross ◽  
Fiona Poland ◽  
Felix Clay ◽  
Abbey Brookes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Early Diagnosis ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Initial Contact ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Early Diagnostic

Background: Primary care services frequently provide the initial contact between people with dementia and health service providers. Early diagnosis and screening programmes have been suggested as a possible strategy to improve the identification of such individuals and treatment and planning health and social care support. Objective: To determine what early diagnostic and screening programmes have been adopted in primary care practice, to explore who should deliver these and to determine the possible positive and negative effects of an early diagnostic and screening programme for people with dementia in primary care. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was undertaken using published and unpublished research databases. All papers answering our research objectives were included. A narrative analysis of the literature was undertaken, with the CASP tools used appropriately to assess study quality. Results: Thirty-three papers were identified of moderate to high quality. The limited therapeutic options for those diagnosed with dementia means that even if such a programme was instigated, the clinical value remains questionable. Furthermore, accuracy of the diagnosis remains difficult to assess due to poor evidence and this raises questions regarding whether people could be over- or under-diagnosed. Given the negative social and psychological consequences of such a diagnosis, this could be devastating for individuals. Conclusion: Early diagnostic and screening programmes have not been widely adopted into primary care. Until there is rigorous evidence assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of such programmes, there remains insufficient evidence to support the adoption of these programmes in practice.

An insight into the work of sexual assault referral centres and the role of the forensic nurse examiner

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (22) ◽  
pp. 1296-1302
Author(s):  
Helen Hand-Oades
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
Healthcare Staff ◽  
Referral Centre ◽  
Know How ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Insight Into

It is more likely than ever that healthcare staff of all grades and in all settings will encounter cases of sexual assault, so it is crucial that they know how to respond appropriately to support survivors. Health and social care workers engage with clients in a range of situations, which means that they are well placed for such disclosure. In some cases, particularly if the assault is a recent incident, time is of the essence to ensure that there is no loss of evidence that could be crucial in gaining a conviction. This article explores the role of a sexual assault referral centre (SARC), a service that few people know about or think they will ever need. The type of sexual activity that constitutes a criminal offence will be discussed and information presented that offers direction for those who want to involve the police, and for those who do not. Links to a range of organisations are also included that survivors of recent or historic sexual assault can access for support and advice.

Humanising health and social care support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Protocol for a scoping review (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison Milne-Ives ◽  
Rohit Shankar ◽  
Daniel Goodley ◽  
Kristen Lamb ◽  
Richard Laugharne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Improve Health

BACKGROUND Healthcare is shifting towards a more person-centred model, however, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can still experience difficulties in accessing equitable healthcare. Given these difficulties, it is important to consider how principles such as empathy and respect can be best incorporated into health and social care practices for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to ensure they are receiving humanising and equitable treatment and support. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the current research landscape and knowledge gaps regarding the development and implementation of interventions based on humanising principles that aim to improve health and social care practices for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. METHODS The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) and Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, and Study (PICOS) frameworks will be used to structure the review. Six databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) will be searched for articles published in English in the previous 10 years that describe or evaluate health and social care practice interventions under-pinned by humanising principles of empathy, compassion, dignity, and respect. Two reviewers will collaboratively screen and select references based on the eligibility criteria and extract the data into a predetermined form. A descriptive analysis will be conducted to summarise the results and provide an overview of interventions in three main care areas: health care, social care, and informal social support. RESULTS Results will be included in the scoping review, which will be submitted for publication by December 2021. CONCLUSIONS This scoping review will summarize the state of the field of interventions that are using humanising principles to improve health and social care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

ENACT Study: What has helped health and social care workers maintain their mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic? Adaptive coping, team resilience, help-seeking behaviour and work based supports

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Cogan ◽  
Chloe Kennedy ◽  
Zoe Beck ◽  
Lisa McInnes ◽  
Gillian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Adaptive Coping ◽  
Team Resilience ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Social Care

Rapid studies have highlighted the adverse mental health impact of COVID-19 on health and social care workers (HSCWs). Complementing this work, we report on the psychosocial factors that have helped HSCWs adapt to the adversities associated with COVID-19 and protect staff wellbeing in Scotland. The ENACT study collected data from HSCWs (n= 1364) in Scotland during the third national lockdown. Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed an online survey providing quantitative data and free responses. A multi-method approach to analysis was used. The majority of HSCWs were found to have low wellbeing scores, high levels of COVID-19 stress, worry, burnout and risk perception scores and almost half of HSCWs met the clinical cut off for acute stress. Adaptive coping strategies and increased perceived team resilience helped mitigate against the adverse impact that COVID-19 stressors have on HSCWs’ mental wellbeing. HSCWs were significantly more likely to seek informal support for dealing with personal or emotional problems. Barriers to formal help-seeking were identified including stigma and fears of consequence of disclosure. HSCWs most valued peer support, workplace supports, visible leadership and teamwork. Our findings illuminate the complexity of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on HSCWs’ wellbeing and will inform future intervention development to increase positive adaptation amongst staff. Addressing barriers to mental health help-seeking among HSCWs is essential. The implications emphasise the importance of lessons learned across health and social care contexts, planning and preparedness for future pandemics.

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