230 research outputs found
Effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapeutic interventions for people with dementia and their families: a systematic review
As there is currently no cure for dementia, providing psycho-social support is imperative. Counselling and psychotherapeutic interventions offer a way to provide individualised support for people with dementia and their families. However, to date, there has not been a systematic review examining the research evidence for these interventions. This review aimed to examine the following research questions: (1) Are counselling/psychotherapeutic interventions effective for people with dementia?, (2) Are counselling/psychotherapeutic interventions effective for care-givers of people with dementia? and (3) Which modes of delivery are most effective for people with dementia and care-givers of people with dementia? A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), PsycINFO and CINAHL in March 2019. Keyword searches were employed with the terms ‘dement*’, ‘counsel*’, ‘psychotherapy’, ‘therap*’, ‘care’ and ‘outcome’, for the years 2000–2019. Thirty-one papers were included in the review, from seven countries. Twenty studies were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or adopted a quasi-experimental design. The remaining studies were qualitative or single-group repeated-measures design. The review identified variation in the counselling/psychotherapeutic approaches and mode of delivery. Most interventions adopted either a problem-solving or cognitive behavioural therapy approach. Mixed effectiveness was found on various outcomes. The importance of customised modifications for people with dementia was highlighted consistently. Understanding the dyadic relationships between people with dementia and their care-givers is essential to offering effective interventions and guidance for practitioners is needed. Information about the cognitive impairment experienced by participants with dementia was poorly reported and is essential in the development of this research area. Future studies should consider the impact of cognitive impairment in developing guidance for counselling/psychotherapeutic intervention delivery for people with dementia
Human-animal relationships and interactions during the Covid-19 lockdown phase in the UK: Investigating links with mental health and loneliness
BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic raises questions about the role that relationships and interactions between humans and animals play in the context of widespread social distancing and isolation measures. We aimed to investigate links between mental health and loneliness, companion animal ownership, the human-animal bond, and human-animal interactions; and to explore animal owners' perceptions related to the role of their animals during lockdown. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020. The questionnaire included validated and bespoke items measuring demographics; exposures and outcomes related to mental health, wellbeing and loneliness; the human-animal bond and human-animal interactions. RESULTS: Of 5,926 participants, 5,323 (89.8%) had at least one companion animal. Most perceived their animals to be a source of considerable support, but concerns were reported related to various practical aspects of providing care during lockdown. Strength of the human-animal bond did not differ significantly between species. Poorer mental health pre-lockdown was associated with a stronger reported human-animal bond (b = -.014, 95% CI [-.023 - -.005], p = .002). Animal ownership compared with non-ownership was associated with smaller decreases in mental health (b = .267, 95% CI [.079 - .455], p = .005) and smaller increases in loneliness (b = -.302, 95% CI [-.461 - -.144], p = .001) since lockdown. CONCLUSION: The human-animal bond is a construct that may be linked to mental health vulnerability in animal owners. Strength of the human-animal bond in terms of emotional closeness or intimacy dimensions appears to be independent of animal species. Animal ownership seemed to mitigate some of the detrimental psychological effects of Covid-19 lockdown. Further targeted investigation of the role of human-animal relationships and interactions for human health, including testing of the social buffering hypothesis and the development of instruments suited for use across animal species, is required
Popular attitudes to memory, the body, and social identity : the rise of external commemoration in Britain, Ireland, and New England
A comparative analysis of samples of external memorials from burial grounds in Britain, Ireland and New England reveals a widespread pattern of change in monument style and content, and exponential growth in the number of permanent memorials from the 18th century onwards. Although manifested in regionally distinctive styles on which most academic attention has so far been directed, the expansion reflects global changes in social relationships and concepts of memory and the body. An archaeological perspective reveals the importance of external memorials in articulating these changing attitudes in a world of increasing material consumption
Role of microstructure and surface defects on the dissolution kinetics of CeO2, a UO2 fuel analogue.
The release of radionuclides from spent fuel in a geological disposal facility is controlled by the surface mediated dissolution of UO2 in groundwater. In this study we investigate the influence of reactive surface sites on the dissolution of a synthesised CeO2 analogue for UO2 fuel. Dissolution was performed on: CeO2 annealed at high temperature, which eliminated intrinsic surface defects (point defects and dislocations); CeO2-x annealed in inert and reducing atmospheres to induce oxygen vacancy defects; and on crushed CeO2 particles of different size fractions. BET surface area measurements were used as an indicator of reactive surface site concentration. Cerium stoichiometry, determined using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and supported by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, was used to determine oxygen vacancy concentration. Upon dissolution in nitric acid medium at 90°C, a quantifiable relationship was established between the concentration of high energy surface sites and CeO2 dissolution rate; the greater the proportion of intrinsic defects and oxygen vacancies, the higher the dissolution rate. Dissolution of oxygen vacancy-containing CeO2-x gave rise to rates that were an order of magnitude greater than for CeO2 with fewer oxygen vacancies. While enhanced solubility of Ce3+ influenced the dissolution, it was shown that replacement of vacancy sites by oxygen significantly affected the dissolution mechanism due to changes in the lattice volume and strain upon dissolution and concurrent grain boundary decohesion. These results highlight the significant influence of defect sites and grain boundaries on the dissolution kinetics of UO2 fuel analogues and reduce uncertainty in the long-term performance of spent fuel in geological disposal
Ventricular volume expansion in presymptomatic genetic frontotemporal dementia
Objective: To characterize the time course of ventricular volume expansion in genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and identify the onset time and rates of ventricular expansion in presymptomatic FTD mutation carriers.
Methods: Participants included patients with a mutation in MAPT, PGRN, or C9orf72, or first-degree relatives of mutation carriers from the GENFI study with MRI scans at study baseline and at 1 year follow-up. Ventricular volumes were obtained from MRI scans using FreeSurfer, with manual editing of segmentation and comparison to fully automated segmentation to establish reliability. Linear mixed models were used to identify differences in ventricular volume and in expansion rates as a function of time to expected disease onset between presymptomatic carriers and noncarriers.
Results: A total of 123 participants met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis (18 symptomatic carriers, 46 presymptomatic mutation carriers, and 56 noncarriers). Ventricular volume differences were observed 4 years prior to symptom disease onset for presymptomatic carriers compared to noncarriers. Annualized rates of ventricular volume expansion were greater in presymptomatic carriers relative to noncarriers. Importantly, time-intensive manually edited and fully automated ventricular volume resulted in similar findings.
Conclusions: Ventricular volume differences are detectable in presymptomatic genetic FTD. Concordance of results from time-intensive manual editing and fully automatic segmentation approaches support its value as a measure of disease onset and progression in future studies in both presymptomatic and symptomatic genetic FTD
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Beyond the martial façade: gender, heritage and medieval castles
Gendered interpretations are rare both within castle-studies and heritage discourses on medieval castles. Yet, castles hold potential to inform multi-vocal accounts of the medieval past and to inspire meaningful heritage interpretations to achieve greater societal impact. This article explores the role that gender currently plays in interpretations of medieval castles in Britain, supported by three case-studies written by heritage professionals. The enduring narrative of militarism at medieval castles sites is discussed, together with issues of authenticity in relation to the historical record, which is in itself biased and inherently gendered. Outcomes from a collaborative workshop highlight the need to address interpretative issues where gender is considered to equate to ‘making women visible’. Finally, we pose the question: What makes a ‘good gendered interpretation’ at a public heritage site
Dementia Care Mappingâ„¢ to reduce agitation in care home residents with dementia: the EPIC cluster RCT
Background
The quality of care for people with dementia in care homes is of concern. Interventions that can improve care outcomes are required.
Objective
To investigate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Dementia Care Mappingâ„¢ (DCM) for reducing agitation and improving care outcomes for people living with dementia in care homes, versus usual care.
Design
A pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial with an open-cohort design, follow-up at 6 and 16 months, integrated cost-effectiveness analysis and process evaluation. Clusters were not blinded to allocation. The primary end point was completed by staff proxy and independent assessors.
Setting
Stratified randomisation of 50 care homes to the intervention and control groups on a 3 : 2 ratio by type, size, staff exposure to dementia training and recruiting hub.
Participants
Fifty care homes were randomised (intervention, n = 31; control, n = 19), with 726 residents recruited at baseline and a further 261 recruited after 16 months. Care homes were eligible if they recruited a minimum of 10 residents, were not subject to improvement notices, had not used DCM in the previous 18 months and were not participating in conflicting research. Residents were eligible if they lived there permanently, had a formal diagnosis of dementia or a score of 4+ on the Functional Assessment Staging Test of Alzheimer’s Disease, were proficient in English and were not terminally ill or permanently cared for in bed. All homes were audited on the delivery of dementia and person-centred care awareness training. Those not reaching a minimum standard were provided training ahead of randomisation. Eighteen homes took part in the process evaluation.
Intervention
Two staff members from each intervention home were trained to use DCM and were asked to carry out three DCM cycles; the first was supported by an external expert.
Main outcome measures
The primary outcome was agitation (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory), measured at 16 months. Secondary outcomes included resident behaviours and quality of life.
Results
There were 675 residents in the final analysis (intervention, n = 388; control, n = 287). There was no evidence of a difference in agitation levels between the treatment arms. The adjusted mean difference in Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score was –2.11 points, being lower in the intervention group than in the control (95% confidence interval –4.66 to 0.44; p = 0.104; adjusted intracluster correlation coefficient: control = 0, intervention = 0.001). The sensitivity analyses results supported the primary analysis. No differences were detected in any of the secondary outcomes. The health economic analyses indicated that DCM was not cost-effective. Intervention adherence was problematic; only 26% of homes completed more than their first DCM cycle. Impacts, barriers to and facilitators of DCM implementation were identified.
Limitations
The primary completion of resident outcomes was by staff proxy, owing to self-report difficulties for residents with advanced dementia. Clusters were not blinded to allocation, although supportive analyses suggested that any reporting bias was not clinically important.
Conclusions
There was no benefit of DCM over control for any outcomes. The implementation of DCM by care home staff was suboptimal compared with the protocol in the majority of homes.
Future work
Alternative models of DCM implementation should be considered that do not rely solely on leadership by care home staff.
Trial registration
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN82288852.
Funding
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 16. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information
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Barriers and facilitators influencing the sustainment of health behaviour interventions in schools and childcare services: a systematic review
Background
Sustainment has been defined as the sustained use or delivery of an intervention in practice following cessation of external implementation support. This review aimed to identify and synthesise factors (barriers and facilitators) that influence the sustainment of interventions (policies, practices, or programmes) in schools and childcare services that address the leading risk factors of chronic disease.
Methods
Seven electronic databases and relevant reference lists were searched for articles, of any design, published in English, from inception to March 2020. Articles were included if they qualitatively and/or quantitatively reported on school or childcare stakeholders’ (including teachers, principals, administrators, or managers) perceived barriers or facilitators to the sustainment of interventions addressing poor diet/nutrition, physical inactivity, obesity, tobacco smoking, or harmful alcohol use. Two independent reviewers screened texts, and extracted and coded data guided by the Integrated Sustainability Framework, an existing multi-level sustainability-specific framework that assesses factors of sustainment.
Results
Of the 13,158 articles identified, 31 articles met the inclusion criteria (8 quantitative, 12 qualitative, 10 mixed-methods, and 1 summary article). Overall, 29 articles were undertaken in schools (elementary n=17, middle n=3, secondary n=4, or a combination n=5) and two in childcare settings. The main health behaviours targeted included physical activity (n=9), diet (n=3), both diet and physical activity (n=15), and smoking (n=4), either independently (n=1) or combined with other health behaviours (n=3). Findings suggest that the majority of the 59 barriers and 74 facilitators identified to impact on intervention sustainment were similar across school and childcare settings. Factors predominantly relating to the ‘inner contextual factors’ of the organisation including: availability of facilities or equipment, continued executive or leadership support present, and team cohesion, support, or teamwork were perceived by stakeholders as influential to intervention sustainment.
Conclusions
Identifying strategies to improve the sustainment of health behaviour interventions in these settings requires a comprehensive understanding of factors that may impede or promote their ongoing delivery. This review identified multi-level factors that can be addressed by strategies to improve the sustainment of such interventions, and suggests how future research might address gaps in the evidence base.
Trial registration
This review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO:
CRD42020127869
, Jan. 2020
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