Implementing outcome measures to enhance practice in a dementia care home team
Parallel 3
17 November, 2026 5:00 – 6:10 pmStaff Development in Care Homes: Evidence, Outcomes and Practice
Mitchell Orlu
Assistant Psychologist
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Reinhard Guss
Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Summary
The multitude of outcome measures to identify causes of distress in dementia can be overwhelming. Careful selection of outcome measures is essential to balance a comprehensive understanding of the individual’s context without causing implementation fatigue or reducing meaningfulness. Additionally, they should use language that aligns with the contemporary understanding of distress in dementia, uphold the individual’s personhood, and ensure perspectives of family and care home staff are included in addition to visiting clinicians.
At UKDC 2024 we presented an overview of the research literature and summarised the benefits and challenges of applying widely available assessment and outcome tools within the Oxleas Dementia Care Home Team. At UKDC 2025 we further presented on developing our own outcome measure based on the 2001 Challenging Behaviour Scale (Moniz-Cooke), whilst consulting with research from across the country and working in collaboration with the BPS Faculty of Older People Inpatient Workforce Stream.
Now, in 2026 we have taken our project even further. Following the development of our outcome measure, we began trialling its use in care homes. Through this implementation process, we have gained valuable insight into the realities of embedding outcome measures within routine practice and the challenges associated with using them effectively to enhance care quality and outcomes in dementia care. We have also been able to collate data demonstrating the effectiveness of our outcome measure in detecting changes in distress following interventions.