July 2016 – Page 5 – MFT Academy Library

Effect of horticultural therapy on wellbeing among dementia day care programme participants: A mixed-methods study (Innovative Practice). (Dementia, April 2016)

Fourteen people attending an adult day programme were recruited to a structured horticultural therapy programme which took place over 10 weeks. The effects were assessed using Dementia Care Mapping and questionnaires completed by family carers. High levels of wellbeing were observed while the participants were engaged in horticultural therapy, and these were sustained once the programme was completed. This study adds to the growing evidence on the benefits of horticultural therapy for people with dementia who have enjoyed gardening in the past.

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.

Meaningful activities for improving the wellbeing of people with dementia: beyond mere pleasure to meeting fundamental psychological needs. (Perspectives in Public Health. 2016 136(2) p.99-107)

Dementia is being increasingly recognised as a major public health issue for our ageing populations. A critical aspect of supporting people with dementia is facilitating their participation in meaningful activities. However, research to date has not drawn on theories of ageing from developmental psychology that would help undergird the importance of such meaningful activity. For the first time, we connect existing activity provision for people with dementia with developmental psychology theories of ageing. The narrative review highlights that activity provision for people with dementia goes beyond mere pleasure to meeting fundamental psychological needs.

Meaningful activities for improving the wellbeing of people with dementia: beyond mere pleasure to meeting fundamental psychological needs. (Perspectives in Public Health. 2016 136(2) pp. 99-107 (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)

Promoting participation and engagement for people with dementia through a cognitive stimulation therapy programme delivered by students: A descriptive qualitative study. (Br J Occ Ther. Jun 2016)

Dementia can affect participation and engagement due to deprivation of cognitive, social and sensory stimulation. To meet this need, educators and a service provider collaborated for occupational therapy students to provide cognitive stimulation therapy for people with dementia. Concludes that through provision of the adapted Making a Difference programme, occupational therapy students were able to fulfil an unmet need while learning from their experience.

Design Recommendations for Recreational Systems Involving Older Adults Living With Dementia. (J Appl Gerontol. 2016 Apr 22.)

As the population ages, an increasing number of people will be diagnosed with dementia. Studies have found that insufficient activities are offered in memory care units to people with dementia, even though people benefit tremendously from participating in recreational activities. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can potentially facilitate activities in this setting, yet there is little guidance for designers to develop systems that can support people with dementia in engaging in recreational activities. To fill this gap, recommendations were generated through fieldwork and refined in two rounds of expert feedback. Areas covered include hardware, content, applications, and navigation. Systems should be usable by people with dementia, in addition to staff, to counter disempowerment by not enabling people to use their full abilities. In addition, a diversity of materials is needed to appeal to individuals with dementia who have widely varying backgrounds, abilities, interests, and preferences.

Perspectives of People with Dementia About Meaningful Activities. (Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2016 31(2) p.115-23)

Qualitative studies were synthesized to describe perspectives of people with dementia regarding meaningful activities. Themes of connectedness were identified using a meta-ethnography approach. The theme of being connected with self encompasses engagement for continuity, health promotion, and personal time. The theme of being connected with others includes being with others not to feel alone, doing an activity with others, and meaningful relationships. The theme of being connected with the environment encompasses being connected to one’s familiar environment, community, and nature. This synthesis suggests that connectedness is an important motivation for engagement in daily activities. Findings indicate that identifying the underlying motivation for an individual with dementia to engage in different activities is important for matching a person with activities that will be satisfying. This review may inform the development of interventions for engaging people with dementia in meaningful, daily activities and creating connectedness to self, others, and the environment.

Supporting people with dementia to eat. (Nursing Older People. 28(6) p.33-39)

The aim of this systematic review was to identify the best ways of supporting people with dementia to eat. Five electronic databases were searched, with a date range from January 2004 to July 2015. Following screening of the 233 studies identified, 22 were included in the final analysis. The study interventions focused on educational programmes, environmental or routine changes, and assistance with eating, with the strongest evidence shown in the more complex educational programmes for people with dementia. The evidence suggests that staff who support people with dementia to eat should undertake face-to-face education programmes and aim to give people enough time when helping them to eat. However, cultural change may be needed to ensure individual assessments are carried out to identify those having difficulty eating, and to ensure they are afforded enough time to eat their meals.

Ombudsman asks why problems persist with hospital discharges (Nursing Management June 2016 23(3) pp. 6-6)

Patients should not be discharged from hospital if they are unfit to leave, insists the health service ombudsman. In a damning report published last month, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman described a 36% increase in discharge-related incidents that had led to an investigation. Death or suffering could have been prevented if hospitals had carried out the right checks, the ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor said.

Compassion in Practice model lacked junior nurse buy-in (Nursing Management June 2016 23(3) pps. 10-11)

AS NHS England unveiled the details of Leading Change, Adding Value, the new nursing framework for England, an evaluation of its predecessor Compassion in Practice (CiP) revealed some interesting learning points for implementation and success of the new strategy.

‘Get a grip’, MPs tell the organisations managing NHS workforce issues (Nursing Management June 2016 23(3) pp. 6)

Organisations in charge of NHS clinical staffing in England have been told to ‘get a better grip’ on the supply of nurses as they attempt to create a ‘seven-day service’.

Readers panel – When the pressure piles up – What needs to be done to protect nurses from becoming too stressed? (Nursing Standard June 2016, 30(40) pps.28-29)

Panel discussion on staffing issues and their consequences.