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Access to communication support for community-dwelling people with dementia: A mixed methods study exploring local perspectives within the United Kingdom context
Get PDFIntroduction.
Communication difficulties occur in all dementia subtypes. This can affect individuals’ identity, relationships, and quality-of-life of people with dementia and their relatives. Professional guidelines recommend access to communication intervention, for example through speech and language therapy (SLT) services, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the type and availability of this provision varies.
Aims.
This study aimed to explore the communication needs of people with dementia, their quality-of-life impact, and local and national service provision.
Methods.
This mixed-methods study comprised three phases:
1. An online survey of UK SLTs (n = 74) examined the type and availability of communication intervention for people with dementia.
2. Semi-structured interviews with people with dementia (n = 7) and relatives (n = 9) explored experiences of communication difficulties and support received.
3. Two focus groups with local NHS Trust staff including: SLTs (n = 7), and dementia HCPs (n = 6).
Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
Results.
Four main themes were identified: dementia-related communication changes; accessing support for communication; identifying communication strategies; and service considerations. The survey identified inconsistent or absent communication input for many people with dementia. Interview and focus group findings highlighted diverse dementia-related communication needs which impacted quality-of-life and support required. Participants suggested service-level considerations for addressing these needs.
Conclusion.
Dementia-related communication impairments are diverse and can considerably impact quality-of-life of people with dementia and their relatives. Communication intervention service-provision varies widely, resulting in unmet needs. These findings add to the growing evidence-base on dementia-related communication difficulties, and highlight a need to develop clinical services
Research With, Not On: When Lived Experience Shifts the Story with Professor Jo Brett, Dr Georgia Cook, Dr Jenny Seddon, Dr Lucy McGeagh and Dr Fiona Matley
No full textJack the Ripper and medical men
No full textThis chapter will examine why so many medical professionals, or individuals said to have medical training of some kind, came to be considered as suspects at the time of the Whitechapel Murders. It will consider whether the degree of suspicion associated with these men was due to the prevailing evidence from the murders and how they were committed; to a broad distrust of science and medicine, which had enjoyed unprecedented advancement over the course of the nineteenth century; or due to the idiosyncrasies and characteristics of the specific personalities associated with the crimes
Assessing the impact of a heritage language intervention in preschool : a controlled trial with dual language learners from immigrant families
Get PDFPurpose: This exploratory randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacyof a heritage language intervention for dual language learners (DLLs) witha migration background. The primary objective was to assess the interven-tion´s impact on heritage language development; a secondary objective wasto explore its effects on the languages of instruction at school.Method: The sample included 186 DLLs (48% girls) from Portuguese-speaking immigrant families in Luxembourg, where Luxembourgish is thesocietal and preschool language, and Luxembourgish and German serve aslanguages of instruction in the early elementary school years. With a meanage of 55 months at the start of the trial, participants were randomlyassigned to an oral language intervention in Portuguese or an active controlintervention. Assessments in the heritage language Portuguese and instruc-tion languages, Luxembourgish and German, were conducted immediatelypost-intervention and nine months later.Results: Immediate post-intervention assessments showed significant gainsin Portuguese language proficiency – including vocabulary, narrative skills,phonemic awareness, and letter-sound knowledge – for the heritage lan-guage intervention group compared to controls. Gains in expressive voca-bulary and phonemic awareness were sustained at follow-up in elementaryschool. Improvements were also observed in Luxembourgish receptive voca-bulary and phonemic awareness. No group differences were found inGerman oral language and reading assessments.Conclusion: The findings highlight the efficacy of a heritage language inter-vention in enhancing heritage language skills and supporting aspects ofdevelopment in the language of instruction. These results suggest thatsupporting heritage language development in preschool can promote multi-lingual growth without compromising school language acquisition.IntroductionChildren who enter school with limited language skills face an increased risk of academic under-achievement (Conti-Ramsden et al., 2009; Hoff, 2013; Snowling et al., 2001). This risk is particularlypronounced for dual-language learners (DLLs) from immigrant families, whose heritage language –spoken at home and tied to their cultural identity – differs from the language of instruction at school
Innovation in the face of crisis : how substantive innovation helped firms thrive during COVID-19
No full textPurpose.
This study investigates how different innovation strategies influenced firms’ stock market performance during the COVID-19 crisis. It examines whether substantive innovation, compared to strategic innovation, enhanced firms’ resilience and how this effect varied across technology intensity and ownership structure.
Design/methodology/approach.
Using a dataset of Chinese-listed firms, we categorise innovation into substantive (invention patents) and strategic (utility and design patents) and apply the Event Study Method to assess stock performance before, during and after the COVID-19 crisis. We further explore firm heterogeneity across state-owned and private enterprises as well as high-tech and non-high-tech sectors.
Findings.
Substantive innovation significantly improved stock performance during the pandemic, particularly in non-high-tech firms and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, this advantage did not persist post-pandemic; firms with high levels of substantive innovation faced greater short-term risks during recovery. Strategic innovation, by contrast, showed limited impact in either period.
Research limitations/implications.
The study focuses on Chinese-listed firms, which may limit generalisability. Future research could extend the framework to other economies or explore qualitative aspects of innovation decisions during crises.
Practical implications.
Firms and policymakers should prioritise substantive innovation for resilience during crises but recognise its potential downside in post-crisis periods. Investors may also consider innovation strategies as indicators of firm stability under external shocks.
Originality/value.
This study offers novel insights into the time-varying impact of innovation types on financial performance and highlights the importance of aligning innovation strategies with firm characteristics and macroeconomic conditions
Judicial review and good administration : refining the public interest model of judicial intervention
No full textWhile UK judicial review is comparatively under-theorised, the literature has been catching up, with numerous theoretical underpinnings now identified. However, while each of these explanations captures an aspect of what judicial review is doing, they operate at a level of generality that can be descriptively and functionally limited. Focusing in particular on the ‘good administration’ concept of review—which has underdeveloped explanatory and hortatory potential—I propose a richer version of this approach via use of conceptual paradigms drawn from literature on policy-making and public administration. The use of such concepts provides a framework for discussion of legal doctrine, yielding a number of important insights. It better explains and understands judicial review’s nature and role, and demonstrates the sophistication of its interrelationship with questions of public policy. At the same time, it facilitates critique of doctrine and its application insofar as it fails to respond sensitively to administrative context, providing practical guidance for decision makers faced with traversing the distance between the abstract grounds of review and their deployment in concrete cases. More broadly, the approach set out provides a novel critical perspective on well-trodden constitutional debates regarding the legislative intention, and political and legal constitutionalism
Professional identity among soon-to-graduate nursing students : an international comparison study
No full textBackground: Professional identity is fundamental to the way a nurse thinks, feels, and behaves and is developed within a context. Global variance in nursing education and work environments formally and informally create differences in how nursing is performed, valued, and supported. In light of increased nurse migration, identifying differences and similarities is important to inform a more inclusive definition of professional identity.
Method: This qualitative descriptive study analyzed semistructured interviews with nursing students in the United States and the United Kingdom for concurrence and divergence.
Results: Concepts of professional identity are shared but interpreted through a cultural and educational lens, leading to nuanced variations that highlight the social and cultural influence of nursing in that geographic setting.
Conclusion: Teasing out these differences and highlighting similarities becomes a valuable endeavor contributing to a more global understanding of nursing professional identity to inform inclusive, participatory, and intentional educational practices that support its development
The unmet needs of gay and bisexual men following prostate cancer treatment : an integrative literature review
No full textPurpose. Evidence has highlighted the unmet physical and psychological needs of men throughout all stages of prostate cancer (PCa), however much of the focus has been on heterosexual men. Research shows that gay and bisexual men (GBM) have unique and unaddressed healthcare needs. The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature by exploring the needs of GBM following their treatment for prostate cancer.
Methods. An integrative literature review sought qualitative and quantitative primary research from five databases (British Nursing Database, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science). A keyword search was employed, and each database was systematically searched. A thematic analysis was undertaken of relevant literature.
Results. The evidence shows that GBM have unmet information, support, and sexual needs. GBM with PCa frequently reported a lack of tailored information about how treatment affected their sexual health. Many felt isolated as mainstream PCa support groups catered to heterosexual men. Some GBM felt unsupported by healthcare professionals (HCPs) who seemed to overlook their unique needs.
Conclusions. GBM with PCa face distinct challenges regarding sexual health, information access, social support, and interactions with HCPs. A more inclusive approach to healthcare practices, support services, and clinical care for GBM is required.
Implications for Cancer Survivors. HCPs should caution GBM about the potential sexual dysfunction post-treatment and avoid making heteronormative assumptions. Tailored information catered to GBM should be delivered, such as signposting to support groups specifically for GBM
