Ageing and India

Posted on March 2, 2016 by

Valerie Lipman is an honorary Postdoc Research Fellow at the Social Care Workforce Research Unit, the Policy Institute at King’s. (926 words)

Just as the British TV-watching public was being captivated by the start of a three-part reality-style programme, ‘The Real Marigold Hotel’, showing eight familiar-faced senior citizens set up home in Jaipur north India, I was on my way to West Bengal in east India to take part in a gerontology conference. While the show raised some big questions about realistic retirement choices, including enjoying India’s many splendours, India is coming to terms with its own vast and growing population of older citizens. Continue reading →

From our annual joint conference: End of Life Care

Posted on February 19, 2016 by

The Annual Joint Conference of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit and Making Research Count at King’s College London and Age UK London, with support from the British Society of Gerontology was held on 11 February 2016 at King’s College London. Joan Rapaport reports. (1,633 words)

By way of introduction, Professor Jill Manthorpe, Director, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, explained that the focus of the conference was on good practice in the day-to-day delivery of palliative and end of life care. The Unit’s Longitudinal Care Work Study had highlighted the importance of collaborative working between health and social care agencies and ensuring staff were prepared and supported when working with people in the last stages of life. In spite of all the bad news about social care being ‘in crisis’ and of poor quality, research has shown that four out of five people describe positive experiences: ‘We can work on the one in five’. Continue reading →

Providing formerly homeless people with the support that they need

Posted on February 4, 2016 by

Maureen Crane, Louise Joly and Jill Manthorpe introduce the final report of the Rebuilding Lives study, published today. (678 words)

Homeless people clearly need homes but in order to keep them and to rebuild their lives they also need access to resettlement programmes that offer long-term support. A major new study by Unit researchers provides detailed evidence of what works in helping formerly homeless people to sustain a tenancy and avoid further homelessness.

We maintained contact with a group of 297 homeless people over five years after they were rehoused. We were fortunate enough to gain funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research to undertake this ground-breaking study. In the Rebuilding Lives study we investigated their experiences, the ‘ups and downs’ of settling down and building a more settled life. It is the largest and only UK study of its kind. One major finding is that just giving someone who has been homeless a tenancy is not the sole solution to homelessness, as many formerly homeless people are still vulnerable during the first few years after being rehoused. Many experience problems living independently, and require ongoing support from housing, health and social care services – help many do not receive. Continue reading →

Poorer dementia patients in England less likely to be prescribed drugs

Posted on November 19, 2015 by

Dr Claudia Cooper is Reader in Old Age Psychiatry at University College London. (560 words)

Dementia patients from more affluent areas in England are 27% more likely to be prescribed anti-dementia drugs than patients from poorer areas, finds a new UCL study of 77,045 dementia patients across the UK. This inequality was not seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

The new research, published in Age and Ageing, also found that compared to English practices, anti-dementia drugs were prescribed more often in Northern Ireland and Scotland but less often in Wales. Continue reading →

Dementia and ethnicity deepen housing needs

Posted on November 8, 2015 by

The increasing numbers of older people with dementia and older people from minority ethnic groups in the UK present new challenges for many housing services according to Gearing Up: Housing, Ethnicity and Dementia, a report just published by Age UK. Valerie Lipman and Jill Manthorpe from the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at the Policy Institute at King’s College London examined the ways in which Housing Associations in England and Scotland are preparing themselves for tenants who develop dementia, especially those who are from minority ethnic groups. Continue reading →

What’s the evidence behind the Dementia ‘I’ statements?

Posted on October 2, 2015 by

Dr Linda Birt,Senior Research Associate at the School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, discusses the Dementia ‘I’ statements and the PRIDE programme. (439 words)

I was diagnosed in a timely way
I know what I can do to help myself and who else can help me
Those around me are well supported and in good health
I get the treatment and support, which are best for my dementia, and my life
I feel included as part of society
I understand so I make good decisions and provide for future decision making
I am treated with dignity and respect
I am confident my end of life wishes will be respected. I can expect a good death
I know how to participate in research

(Abbreviated from outcomes derived from the work of the Dementia Action Alliance)

The ‘I’ statements in dementia are having an impact, being discussed by the Prime Minister and Professor Alistair Burns. These statements indicate what a good experience of living with dementia should look like. Continue reading →

Let’s Talk – Piloting an educational drama in a care home

Posted on August 11, 2015 by

Caroline Norrie (left) and Michelle Cornes are, respectively, Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Social Care Workforce Research Unit. (666 words)

A Transformative Research Fund grant has been awarded to researchers from the Social Care Workforce Research Unit (SCWRU) at King’s College London to pilot an educational drama initiative in a care home in Cumbria. Care home staff, multi-agency colleagues (such as GPs and physiotherapists) and residents will hopefully volunteer to take part in a drama called Let’s Talk, which is designed to stimulate discussion about working relationships. As well as piloting the drama, three interprofessional, reflective ‘Community of Practice’ (CoP) meetings will be held which will act as a forum to discuss care home practices and ideas for change. Continue reading →

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