Researchers at University College London have developed a simple computer algorithm using routinely collected health data that could help GPs predict the risk of patients developing dementia. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
The United Kingdom cannot keep relying on unpaid carers to support people with dementia because the burden and the care “lottery” will prove unsustainable, a conference has heard.
Adelina Comas-Herrera, assistant professorial research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said that the estimated cost of dementia was some £26.2bn (€34bn; $37.1bn) in the UK in 2014. This included £4.3bn in NHS costs and £4.5bn in local authority funded social care; the rest came from social care funded by patients and families themselves (£5.8bn) and the costs of unpaid carers (£11.6bn). To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Pharmacological treatments for agitation and aggression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease have shown limited efficacy. The authors assessed the heterogeneity of response to citalopram in the Citalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer Disease (CitAD) study to identify individuals who may be helped or harmed. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
to describe the views of healthcare workers on the facilitators of communication with people with dementia in a care setting. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Background The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a cognitive test that is commonly used as part of the evaluation for possible dementia.
Objectives To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at various cut points for dementia in people aged 65 years and over in community and primary care settings who had not undergone prior testing for dementia.
Open access. Caring for people with dementia living in their own homes is a challenging care issue that raises ethical dilemmas of how to balance autonomy with their safety and well-being. The theoretical framework for this study consisted of the concepts of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, paternalism and from the ethics of care. The aim of this study was to explore ethical dilemmas concerning autonomy that were identified when persons with dementia wished to live at home.
Reflections series. During one care home shift, an especially demanding resident stretched both my personal resources and professional resilience. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
A joint declaration has been published on post diagnostic dementia care and support.
It is based on a recognition that people living with the effects of dementia and their families and carers have a need for the right information and support so they can live as fulfilling lives as possible, prepare for the future and their preferences for end of life are acted upon.
In a recent Cochrane review, it was concluded that CST is indeed very effective, but that there is a gap in the evidence base on the delivery of CST and how this may affect the outcome (Woods et al., 2012). Therefore, Orgeta and colleagues (2015) conducted a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effects (and cost-effectiveness) of a carer-led home-based CST. It’s this recent study that I am discussing in this blog.
Patients with dementia at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are benefiting from a nutritional support pathway that improves appetite. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Peterborough set out to ensure that during an NHS Health Check, people identified at risk of, or diagnosed with, dementia were connected with the services they required.
Estimates suggest Peterborough has over 1,000 people living with dementia in the community with only 45% of them actually having been diagnosed. National research has indicated reluctance within primary care to diagnose dementia due to a perceived lack of follow on services.
The Peterborough public health team also identified a significant gap in knowledge across health and social care professionals, regarding the potential for lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
The inappropriate use of antipsychotics in people with dementia for behaviour that challenges is associated with an estimated 1800 deaths annually. However, solely focusing on antipsychotics may transfer prescribing to other equally dangerous psychotropics. Little is known about the role of pharmacists in the management of psychotropics used to treat behaviours that challenge. This research aims to determine whether it is feasible to implement and measure the effectiveness of a combined pharmacy–health psychology intervention incorporating a medication review and staff training package to limit the prescription of psychotropics to manage behaviour that challenges in care home residents with dementia. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is used to assess a person’s decision-making ability and to make a best interests decision where the individual lacks the capacity to do so. The act was considered to have the potential to maximise the autonomy of individuals with mental or cognitive impairments, but this has not been fully realised. Since the act came into force, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has challenged many of the principles underpinning the act. That challenge and how existing provisions in the act can be implemented to increase autonomy and control for people with cognitive or mental impairments are discussed. The principles of the convention are described and potential future amendments to the law are identified. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Melissa Bunting and Catharine Jenkins investigate the effect of caring among different cultural groups and recommend culturally congruent interventions to support carers. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Citalopram has been shown to improve agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The authors evaluated whether other neuropsychiatric symptoms improve with citalopram treatment compared with placebo. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
NHS England has today announced a £1.75m investment in an innovative family-based initiative to help more people to be cared for in a home, not a hospital.
The Shared Lives model will support people who have needs which make it hard for them to live on their own, by carefully matching them with a carer to share their family and lives, giving care and support in the community.
People using the scheme may have learning disabilities, dementia, mental health problems or other needs which require long or short term support. It will offer them the opportunity to either live with their matched and approved Shared Lives carer, or visit them regularly for day support or overnight breaks.
Emerging practice tells us that, for ‘place-based’ health and care to be effective, it’s best to co-produce it with local communities. Tina Coldham, trustee at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and Ewan King, director of business development and delivery, SCIE, give their views:
Impersonal. Task-based. The ‘hotel model’. This rather gloomy picture can be painted about some care homes that provide dementia support.
But a short film and report on our website shows how staff in a care home in Swansea are challenging these assumptions. It’s a model of shared living that builds on the strengths and contributions of people living with dementia, their families and staff. It uses the values and practices of co-production.
Idea To create a carer’s passport that provides details of the main carer and gives them greater access to assist in providing care. The carer’s passport opens up hospital wards to carers of patients living with Alzheimer’s or one of the other forms of dementia and has been adopted successfully at other hospitals.
The main objective of this study was to summarize the effects of various individual, caregiver, and system-related factors on the risk of long-term care (LTC) placement for persons with dementia. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
F. Molnar, B. Hutton, and D. Fergusson. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 179 (8):
751-3(October 2008)4563<br/>PUBM: Print; JID: 9711805; ppublish;<br/>Dades censurades; LOCF; Bias.