What makes good home care for people with dementia?

Centre for Dementia Seminar Series 2017

Speaker: Professor Justine Schneider (University of Nottingham)

Abstract

This question was tackled by a research project called Broadening Our Understanding of Good Homecare (BOUGH) funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Social Care Research between 2015 and 2017. A research team based at the University of Nottingham set out to examine home care for people with dementia so that its function in community support can be described fully, with a view to service development and effective commissioning. The study has been described to the Centre for Dementia by researchers Lucy Perry-Young and Samantha Wilkinson.

In this seminar Justine will present some analysis of the data and talk about the dissemination strategy using the arts. The results of the study are undergoing expert review and are expected to be published in due course. The findings are therefore provisional, but overall the BOUGH study found that good home carers carried out practical tasks necessary to the maintenance of life and the prevention of disease, but they also attended to the cognitive, social and emotional needs of people with dementia.

While engaging clients with everyday tasks like eating, washing and dressing, good care workers sought to promote choice, reinforcing the agency and identity of the person with dementia by various means. When time permitted, they seized opportunities for cognitive stimulation, reminiscence and pleasurable leisure pursuits. One conclusion is that 'empathic engagement' can be seen as the common purpose of home care activities for and with people with dementia. In the presentation Justine will explore this concept and what it means for policy, practice and workforce development.