May 2016 – Page 5 – MFT Academy Library

Empowerment of young people who have a parent living with dementia: a social model perspective. (International Psychogeriatrics, 2016, 28(4))

Socially constructed disablement has marginalized young people in families where a parent has younger onset dementia (YOD). This has contributed to inadequate societal support for their complex situation. Impacts on such young people include significant involvement with mental health services for themselves. In this paper, we explored the young people’s lived experiences in these families and the influencing factors to enable these young people to be included and supported within their community.Methods: In this qualitative research study, the social model of disability was used as the theoretical framework in conducting a thematic analysis of interviews with 12 participants.Results: Three themes emerged; invisibility highlighting the issues of marginalization; connectivity foregrounding the engagement of young people with family, friends and their social networks, and being empowered through claiming their basic human right to receive the age appropriate support they needed.Conclusion: The current plight of young people living with a parent with YOD demands a fundamental shift by society in developing inclusive cross-sectorial cooperation linking service providers across youth and dementia sectors. This requires working in partnership with the service users responding to the identified needs of individual family members.

The Academy Library does not currently subscribe to the journal that this article appears in, however we can most likely request it from another library. Please contact the UHSM Academy Library for more detail or call 0161 291 5778.

The influence of day care centres for people with dementia on family caregivers: an integrative review of the literature. (Aging & Mental Health, 2016 20(5))

Day care centres (DCC) for people with dementia (PWD) have received increased attention recently, due to a shift in policy from the use of residential care towards home-based services. The aim of this study is to provide an extended understanding of the influence of DCCs on family caregivers (FCs).

Facilitating independence: The benefits of a post-diagnostic support project for people with dementia. (Dementia 2016, 15(2))

Providing support in the form of information, advice and access to services or social events is promoted as beneficial for people newly diagnosed with dementia and their families. This paper reports on key findings from an evaluation of a post-diagnostic support pilot project in Scotland addressing local service gaps, namely information provision, emotional and practical support and maintaining community links. Twenty-seven participants (14 people newly diagnosed with dementia and 13 family carers) were interviewed at two time points: T1 shortly after joining the pilot project and T2 approximately six months later, to ascertain their views on existing services and the support offered by the pilot project. A comparative thematic analysis revealed that the project facilitated increased independence (associated with increased motivation and self-confidence) of people with dementia. The project illustrates what can be achieved if resources are targeted at providing individualised post-diagnostic support, particularly where there are service delivery gaps.

Training programmes and mealtime assistance may improve eating performance for elderly long-term care residents with dementia. (Evidence Based Nursing, 2016, 19(1))

Ability to eat autonomously at mealtimes enhances social contact and interaction, supports adequate nutrition and intake, and promotes the enjoyment of food. Yet more than half of older adults with dementia living in long-term care lose the ability to get food into their mouths. Factors influencing eating performance include intrapersonal characteristics (eg cognitive impairment), interpersonal features (eg interactions with caregivers and other residents) and environmental aspects (eg physical elements such as noise or organisational elements such as staffing levels). Caregivers are in a strategic position to support eating ability with targeting each of these factors. The purpose of this study is to summarise mealtime interventions and to evaluate their effectiveness on the eating performance of older adults with dementia in long-term care.

Training programmes and mealtime assistance may improve eating performance for elderly long-term care residents with dementia. (Evidence Based Nursing, 2016, 19(1)) (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

Nutrition and Hydration Week: one trust’s recipe for success. (British Journal of Nursing, 2016, 25(5))

The article describes the efforts of the County Durth and Darlington National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in implementing its nutrition and hydration strategy plan. Topics discussed include the launch of a finder food menu in management of dementia among hospital patients, the afternoon tea party held at Darlington Hospital, and the trial of Simple Measures mugs.

Nutrition and Hydration Week: one trust’s recipe for success. (British Journal of Nursing, 2016, 25(5)) (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

Improving food intake in persons living with dementia. (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Mar 2016, 1367(1))

Persons living with dementia have many health concerns, including poor nutritional states. This narrative review provides an overview of the literature on nutritional status in persons diagnosed with a dementing illness or condition. Poor food intake is a primary mechanism for malnutrition, and there are many reasons why poor food intake occurs, especially in the middle and later stages of the dementing illness. Research suggests a variety of interventions to improve food intake, and thus nutritional status and quality of life, in persons with dementia. For family care partners, education programs have been the focus, while a range of intervention activities have been the focus in residential care, from tableware changes to retraining of self-feeding. It is likely that complex interventions are required to more fully address the issue of poor food intake, and future research needs to focus on diverse components. Specifically, modifying the psychosocial aspects of mealtimes is proposed as a means of improving food intake and quality of life and, to date, is a neglected area of intervention development and research.

Classifying eating-related problems among institutionalized people with dementia. (Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Apr 2016, 70(4))

Aims Various eating-related problems are commonly observed among people with dementia, and these problems place a huge burden on the caregivers. An appropriate classification of these problems is important in order to understand their underlying mechanisms and to develop a therapeutic approach for managing them. The aim of this study was to develop a possible classification of eating-related problems and to reveal the background factors affecting each of these problems across various conditions causing dementia. Methods The participants were 208 institutionalized patients with a diagnosis of dementia. Care staff were asked to report all kinds of eating-related problems that they observed. After the nurses’ responses were analyzed, 24 items relating to eating-related problems were extracted. A factor analysis of these 24 items was conducted, followed by a logistic regression analysis to investigate the independent variables that most affected each of the eating-related factors. Results Four factors were obtained. Factor 1 was overeating, factor 2 was swallowing problems, factor 3 was decrease in appetite, and factor 4 was obsession with food. Each factor was associated with different background variables, including Mini-Mental State Examination scores, Clinical Dementia Ratings, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Conclusions This study suggests that eating-related problems are common across conditions causing dementia and should be separately considered in order to understand their underlying mechanisms.

Classifying eating-related problems among institutionalized people with dementia. (Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Apr 2016, 70(4)) (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

Sensory stimulation for persons with dementia: A review of the literature. (Journal of Clinical Nursing, Mar 2016)

Aims and objectives To provide an overview of available sensory stimulation interventions, and their effect on persons with dementia and to present theoretical and methodological characteristics of the studies included. Background Different sensory stimulation interventions are used for persons with dementia to increase alertness, reduce agitation and improve quality of life. However, the effect of these interventions is not clear, neither are their characteristics. Conclusions More studies are needed to clarify appropriate substantial background for the specific interventions. However, most of the studies based their interventions on a theoretical foundation. Furthermore, more research is needed to measure the effect of sensory stimulation on communication as well as quality of life. In addition, studies are to focus on whether the effect depends on the stage of dementia. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses are to be aware of sensory stimulation as a possible intervention to improve persons’ quality of life.

Sensory stimulation for persons with dementia: A review of the literature. (Journal of Clinical Nursing, Mar 2016) (Follow this link if you have an Athens password). Alternatively contact the UHSM Academy Library for a copy of the article or call 0161 291 5778)

The association between aspects of daily life and quality of life of people with dementia living in long-term care facilities: A momentary assessment study. (International Psychogeriatrics, Apr 2016)

Background: To improve the quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia (PwD) living in long-term care facilities, insight into the association between QoL and how people spend their daily lives is urgently needed. This study investigated which aspects of daily life are related to QoL in dementia. Methods: An observational study was conducted. Daily life was assessed with the tablet-based Maastricht Electronic Daily Life Observation-tool (MEDLO-tool). Aspects included activity, engagement in the activity, social interaction, physical effort, mood, and agitation. QoL was assessed by formal nursing caregivers using the Quality of Life-Alzheimer’s Disease scale (QoL-AD). Conclusions: The results underline the importance of social interaction and a positive mood for a higher QoL. Future research should investigate the importance of engagement in activities in more detail.

Measuring engagement with music: development of an informant-report questionnaire. (Aging & Mental Health, 2016 20(5))

This study describes the development of the Music Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ), a 35-item scale to measure engagement with music in daily life. Music has implications for well-being and for therapy, notably for individuals living with dementia. A number of excellent scales or questionnaires are now available to measure music engagement. Unlike these scales, the MusEQ may be completed by either the participant or an informant.