This is a brief round-up of the news and resources regularly posted and updated on our website. See more at: www.journalofdementiacare.co.uk Young onset dementia risk A major study, published by the JAMA Neurological Journal, has provided greater insight into the risk factors associated with developing young onset dementia (dementia under the age of 65). The...
In Scotland the role of occupational therapists and other allied health professionals (AHPs) in dementia care is taken seriously, perhaps more seriously than elsewhere in the UK. The Alzheimer Scotland blog Let’s Talk about Dementia regularly carries stories from qualified and student OTs on their experiences and perceptions of dementia care while emphasising the crucial...
Alzheimer’s Society has published advice on what to do if someone with dementia has apathy, a condition in which the individual apparently loses interest in doing things they used to enjoy. In the advice, written by Clare Burgon, the Society says that apathy often goes unrecognised, even though it is common in most types of...
Is it time to reinvigorate old networks, asks the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) blog, which expresses scepticism about the resolve of UK governments (with the honourable exception of Scotland) to maintain the momentum of dementia policy. It describes the demise of the Dementia Action Alliance national network as “effectively a deprioritisation of dementia since...
Wendy Mitchell writes about a visit to London to promote her new book, One Last Thing: How to live with the end in mind. As the title suggests, the topic is death and in the book Wendy explores dying with dementia, how we prepare for it and talk about it. The London visit is a...
Resource 1 Gardening for health charity Thrive has produced a garden action pack called Get Gardening Without a Garden. The pack, intended for people with dementia among others, gives tips on experiencing the wellbeing benefits of gardening without having a garden. There are sections on containers, window boxes, house plants and much more. Research by...
Wendy Mitchell describes heading out to a meeting of York Minds and Voices. These meetings are evidently joyous occasions and Wendy posts a selection of her photos taken on the day to prove it. There is peer support and discussion of the new Admiral Nurse service “Closer to home,”: supporting people to live as well...
Delayed hospital discharge People living with dementia often experience delayed discharge yet there is little research into their experiences. Using semi-structured interviews with people with dementia, family members and nurses, this study identified three main themes (1) Living and waiting (2) Distress and behaviours and (3) Looking beyond the designation. It identified labelling, a behaviour...
Blogs Young onset dementia is not all doom and gloom, says Jane in her Memory for Two blog, where she reflects on the strangeness of grief. Her husband Ash was diagnosed with young onset dementia in 2017 and life since then has been an emotional rollercoaster. “Yesterday I was happy from beginning to end of...
Blogs Beth Britton says she was particularly alarmed by one statistic in the World Alzheimer Report 2022: “Up to 85% of people living with dementia may not receive post-diagnosis care”. As the global scope of this annual report from Alzheimer’s Disease International implies, 85% is the figure for the whole planet and it has to...