134 research outputs found
Dementia and Well-being
No full textIn recent years, policy and legislation in both England and Scotland has sought to promote the well-being of users of health and social care services, such as people with dementia. Most recent policy across the UK has identified key objectives, attainment of which is essential to the well-being of service users as governments have introduced a range of initiatives to ensure that services deliver good outcomes to service users. To date, however, there has been very little consideration of how inclusive this agenda is to people with dementia. \ud
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Ailsa Cook addresses this gap by reviewing critically recent health and social care policy in Scotland and England in light of the growing body of empirical research into the experiences and perspectives of people with dementia. She draws on this evidence to consider the particular challenges associated with delivering four key outcomes to people with dementia identified by policy makers as fundamental to well-being. These are: independence, health, choice and social inclusion. The book examines the potential for current policy proposals to meet the needs of people with diverse experiences of dementia and considers the particular issues relating to including people with dementia as partners in policy and practice - a key principle underpinning all health and social care. In so doing the book contributes a much needed policy perspective to the field of dementia, as well as providing a fresh lens through which to consider the difference that proposed policies can make to a diverse range of service users.\ud
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Intended as a text for Dementia Studies and gerontology students the specific focus of this book on the inter-relationship of policy and dementia ensures its place as a key reference for policy makers and administrators assessing the impact of policies, both implemented and proposed.\ud
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Dr Ailsa Cook works at the RBS Centre for the Older Person’s Agenda at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh
Best breakfast pancakes
No full text This month Ailsa Chapman decided to cook the Scotch variety of pancakes, giving children a choice of toppings. </jats:p
More than meets the eye: using video to research the interactions of older people in care settings.
No full textCook, A., & Hubbard, G. (2007). In S. Peace (Ed.), . London
Supporting vulnerable adults : citizenship, capacity, choice
No full textThe author examines theories of citizenship, capacity and choice when supporting vulnerable adults and uses the impact of the early implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 as a model. Her main themes are the extent of the reach of the state and the appropriateness of this with; a discussion of the tension between autonomy and protection and consideration of whether or not vulnerability impacts on the human rights of individuals. Concepts of harm and abuse are explored. Key questions answered include: does diminished intellectual capacity limit your rights as a citizen? Does vulnerability, and being at risk of harm or abuse, limit capacity? The author also explores whether the introduction of such legislation compromises individuals’ free will and choice. The book bases itself around the Scottish legislation and draws on the emerging results of empirical research undertaken by the author over the first two years following its implementation, the first of its kind in the UK. This provides a unique focus for the central debate on autonomy and protection and the link to citizenship and capacity. Supporting Vulnerable Adults provides an excellent overview of the tensions inherent in these policies for students and for those health and social care workers, policy makers and other practitioners whose work involves the vulnerable. Ailsa Stewart is a Lecturer in the Glasgow School of Social Work, a joint school of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde
Mealtimes and food for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and dysphagia: understanding the lived experience of family carers
No full textThis study aims to develop an understanding of the lived experience of family carers
of people with PIMD and dysphagia, in relation to mealtimes and food. Policy in
recent years has begun to address the inequalities faced by people with learning
disabilities and it is striving to improve their lives and the services offered to them.
People with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) often have
additional eating and drinking difficulties (dysphagia). People with dysphagia require
ongoing support and guidance, to maximize their health, specifically their nutrition
and hydration. In order to ensure that this support is appropriate, useful and sensitive
to the needs of individuals and their families, it is important to try and view
mealtimes through the eyes of these individuals and their families.
The aims of this study emerged from observations made during my clinical work as a
Speech & Language Therapist (SLT) and from engaging in discussion with family
carers. In particular it has become increasingly clear from clinical practice that
family carers often have different points of view about their son or daughter with
profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, than those of professionals. These
different points of view are often not clearly articulated by carers or professionals,
and clinical interventions may become marked with conflict.
This study is sited within a mental health and learning disability NHS trust in the
north east of England. It utilises a phenomenological methodology and employs
mixed methods to obtain data. Data collection took place between June 2013 and
August 2014.
Medical descriptions do not capture how it feels to live with impairment and
resulting disability. Only when we examine this and allow individuals to tell their
stories, as experts in their experiences, can we understand and offer support
accordingly and ensure more functional and beneficial interactions and interventions.
Findings are presented around four themes – the meaning of food and mealtimes,
relationships, roles within the family and challenges. Findings are discussed in
relation to the existing literature and recommendations are made for practice and for
future research.
During this study the adult child is mainly referred to as the ‘child’. For clarity, this
is not in any way meant to convey the individual’s presentation as having PIMD as
akin to being a child. The term is used to represent the relationship between the
parents and the child. Despite the fact that the individuals are adults, they are still the
children of the parents, and the relationship is a parent-son/daughter relationship. For
brevity the term ‘child’ is used in preference to ‘adult child’. The use of the term has
been agreed with the parents participating in the study. All names are assumed and
have been chosen by the participants. In the course of this thesis the direct giving of food to the individuals with disabilities
is termed ‘feeding’. I acknowledge this term may be associated with potentially
negative connotations. The term ‘feeding’ has been used because it is the term used
widely in the literature, because it was used by the family carers in their narratives
and because there is no other suitable substitute which adequately describes the
direct provision of food from one person in to the mouth of another
Short Fiction in Theory & Practice special issue Figure of the Author
No full textFollowing the conference co-organized between the University of Angers and Edge Hill University on The Figure of the Author in the Short Story in English April 2011, a special double issue of Short Fiction in Theory and Practice (co-edited with the Journal of the Short Story in English) is out now. http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=196
Short Fiction in Theory & Practice special issue Figure of the Author
No full textFollowing the conference co-organized between the University of Angers and Edge Hill University on The Figure of the Author in the Short Story in English April 2011, a special double issue of Short Fiction in Theory and Practice (co-edited with the Journal of the Short Story in English) is out now. http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=196
Understanding the communication of older people with dementia living in residential care
No full textThis thesis explores the communication of a group of older people with dementia living in a residential care home and specifically, seeks to understand how living with dementia in a care home influences communication. The study draws broadly on a symbolic interactionist perspective and uses an ethnographic, inclusive, video methodology. In so doing, the study grounds the research in the experiences of the older residents with dementia and explores communication as it is interwoven with social life.
The empirical data, on which this thesis is based, were gathered over the course of six months in one residential care home in Central Scotland. Analysis of these data, in conjunction with the theoretical literature informing the study, led to the development of a framework and a set of concepts to understand the communication of the older people with dementia living in residential care. This framework was used to examine the ways in which the older residents' experiences of institutionalisation, ageing, and dementia, generally, and of life in the care setting, specifically, influenced their communication. The findings revealed that the older residents made diverse meanings of their experiences in the home, and mat many of the meanings that they made were threatening to their self-identity, self-determinacy and social relationships. The residents engaged in a range of strategies to respond to the impact of these meanings and to negotiate their life in the care home.
The research presented in this thesis has many implications for understanding the experiences of older people with dementia in residential care. In particular, the research highlights the need for a new social understanding of dementia, that examines the experience of dementia in relation to broad structural and cultural processes and that seeks to promote the social inclusion and citizenship of older people with dementia
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