Crossing the Line booklets provide practical advice on personal care provision for people with dementia
The Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester has launched a series of booklets for family carers supporting someone living with dementia with their personal care.
The booklets come from the ‘Crossing the Line’ research project which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The project aimed to gain an understanding of the experiences of family carers relating to their provision of personal care to people living with dementia and hear their often-hidden voice.
The Association for Dementia Studies says:
“Family carers often face challenges adapting to the role that providing personal care brings, which can be worsened by a lack of knowledge and skills, information, guilt and embarrassment. The challenges around personal care are often a tipping point for the person living with dementia to move into a care home.
“The findings from this project enabled the development of accessible, co-produced educational resources for family carers, including a website, a series of 15 booklets covering a wide range of topics around personal care and dementia, and film clips sharing carer experiences. Health and social care professionals can also use the resources to provide advice, deepen understanding and initiate discussions about caring topics, and they may also be useful in support groups for family or unpaid carers, or to plan training and education sessions.”
Topics covered by the booklets include going to the toilet, washing, bathing, dressing, mouth-care, shaving, hair care and foot and nail care.
The booklets are available here https://caringhelp.on.worc.ac.uk/index.php/booklets/ and printed formats can be provided.
For more information on Crossing the Line and film clips about the project, please visit: https://caringhelp.on.worc.ac.uk/