Evaluation of the impact on audiences of Inside Out of Mind, research-based theatre for dementia carers

Background Inside Out of Mind is an ethno-drama about dementia carers in hospital, intended to raise awareness of this role, and about dementia care in general. Following a successful premiere in 2013, it was taken on a live tour funded by the Big Lottery through Arts Council England to six cities. This paper explores the impact on audiences consisting largely of professional carers. Methods Mixed methods were applied; semi-structured self-completion questionnaires for post-show feedback, and one month later telephone interviews to a stratified sample of respondents. Framework analysis was used to explore the data, paying particular attention to critical comments. Results Of the 5,426 people who attended, 19% completed post-show questionnaires. Sixty-four were subsequently interviewed in depth. Both lay and professional audience members expressed heightened awareness of the needs of people with dementia. They expressed greater appreciation of the care process and the challenges faced by the people employed to care for people with dementia in hospitals and other long-term settings. Conclusions As research-based theatre this production of Inside Out of Mind afforded an effective medium for knowledge transfer. It engaged audiences with the key issues - including dignity, identity and loss - and enabled them to relate these to their own lives, while encouraging appropriate practical responses

Portraits of people with dementia : three case studies of creating portraits

Peer reviewedPreprin

People with Dementia, Contributing to Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Innovative Practice

Patients and service users have a well-established role in teaching and learning on professional qualifying programmes such as such as social work and nursing. However, the role of people with dementia in contributing to educational initiatives at higher educational level remains under explored. Four people with dementia were recruited as Expert by Lived Experience Tutors for the Foundation Degree in Dementia Studies at a University in the United Kingdom. They met students regularly to support their learning. We were interested in researching whether and how this enhanced the ability of students to enable people to live well with dementia. However, we also discovered that the initiative gave insight into psychosocial aspects of dementia, and a new opportunity to explore personhood, co-production and social citizenship. That is the focus of this article

Playing the long game: exploring the phenomenon of dementia friendly golf

As individuals age, participation in previously accessible leisure activities can be compromised through diminished capabilities and negative societal expectations. This study investigates the unexplored accessibility of golf for older people with dementia using interviews and observations of Scottish participants in social enterprise–led golfing activities. The resulting thematic analysis concluded that golf is an accessible activity for people living with dementia, and continued participation generates social connectedness and enhances well-being. However, there remain social barriers to participation including societal stigma surrounding the perceived abilities of people living with dementia and the perception of golf as a middle-class and male-dominated sport

A Right to ‘Dying Well’ with Dementia? Capacity, ‘Choice’ and Relationality.

A right to 'dying well' with dementia? Capacity, 'choice' and relationalit

The East Lancashire Clinic Model: Supporting care homes to understand reactive behaviours (Innovative Practice)

The East Lancashire Clinic model is a consultancy-based approach to supporting care home staff to assess and respond to reactive behaviours of people with dementia and reduce the need to refer into secondary mental health services. The clinics are person centred and solution focused, aiming to promote recognition of unmet needs and early interventions implemented by staff. The pilot was able to resolve most cases and reduce referral rates into secondary care services. Through working collaboratively, it empowers staff to improve the care of all their residents, improves relationship with secondary care services and has potential to offer efficiency savings

'A beginning and not the end’: Work after a diagnosis of dementia

YesWhile there is a growing literature on the experiences of disabled workers, this article presents an account of a work experience not frequently documented: being employed while living with dementia. It does this through the account of Elizabeth Draper, an NHS Hospital Trust manager, who received a diagnosis of dementia while employed. The article offers new ways of conceptualizing the struggles of disabled workers to continue with their project of self-becoming through work. It shows how work practices can enact violence through ‘non-recognition’ and how workers can subvert this violence to create opportunities for future development

Using the Pool Activity Level instrument to support meaningful activity for a person with dementia: A case study

Statement of context: Activity participation is beneficial for the wellbeing of people with dementia; however, care staff and caregivers experience difficulties with facilitating activity for this client group. Critical reflection on practice: This practice analysis outlines the therapy process conducted by an occupational therapist using the Pool Activity Level instrument, to support meaningful activity for a person with dementia, in an acute inpatient environment. Implications for practice: The Pool Activity Level instrument enables people with dementia to engage in meaningful activity. Occupational therapists are well positioned to integrate this tool within daily care, to enable all staff and caregivers to engage alongside a person with dementia in activity at an appropriate level

Evaluating the Use of Daily Care Notes Software for Older People with Dementia

There has been little research to investigate the impact of software to support the care for older people with dementia care. This article reports the evaluation of software adapted to support one key person-centered task for the care of older residents with dementia – recording and sharing daily care notes. The evaluation on the dementia wing of 1 residential home for over 6 months revealed that use of the software on mobile devices carried by the carers increased the number and volume of daily care notes recorded, but only for the types of content that were already being recorded by carers. Carers reported more advantages that resulted from daily care notes once in digital form than from the documenting task, as well as barriers to the use of mobile digital software to record daily care notes

Football and dementia: A qualitative investigation of a community based sports group for men with early onset dementia

This study investigates the impact of a weekly group providing sport and physical activities for men with early onset dementia established by Notts County Football in the Community (NCFC). There were three aims: investigate the effect of early onset dementia on individuals with the condition and their carers; examine perceptions of current levels of service provision for people with early onset dementia; and analyse the impact of the group. Men with dementia (n=5) attending the sessions, their carers (n=5), NCFC coaching staff (n=5) and people organising/facilitating the sessions (n=5), were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews explored the participants’ experiences of dementia, their opinions on current service provisions and on the sessions. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were found: loss related to the condition of dementia and its impact on relationships (‘Loss’); lack of age-appropriate services for people with early onset dementia (‘Lack of Resources’); enjoyment and positive anticipation related to the group for all involved (‘Enjoyment and Anticipation’); and ‘the Notts County Effect’ which attributed the success of the sessions to the strong brand of the football club, and to personalised service in a “dementia-free” environment. The NCFC sessions provided a safe low-cost intervention with positive effects upon quality of life for both people with early onset dementia, their carers and the staff involved. This suggests that the service may be valuable to a wider range of people living in different area