Dementia

This research programme developed a person-centred intervention, which reduced anti-psychotic use and improved quality of life when compared to treatment as usual. Background The effective management of agitation and other neuropsychiatric and behavioural symptoms in people with dementia is a major challenge, particularly in care home settings, where dementia severity is higher and there is limited training and support for care staff. There is evidence for the value of staff training and the use of psychosocial approaches; however, no intervention currently exists that combines these elements into an intervention that is fit for purpose and effective in these settings based on evidence from a randomised controlled trial.

One-third of people with mild-to-moderate dementia experience loneliness. 30% are moderately lonely and 5% are severely lonely, reports one of the first major studies to look at the issue. These figures are comparable to the general population of older people. People with dementia who live alone, and who experience social isolation, depression and lower quality of life are more likely to feel lonely. But researchers found no association between loneliness and dementia-specific factors. Interventions that help people tackle depression and build more supportive relationships may help reduce loneliness.

Care home staff will be tested for coronavirus weekly and residents will be tested every month, as part of a new social care testing strategy. Repeat testing will initially be prioritised for those care homes primarily looking after the over 65s or those with dementia.

The objectives were to establish the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in prisoners in England and Wales and their health and social care needs; validate the six-item cognitive impairment test for routine use in prisons to aid early and consistent identification of older prisoners with possible dementia or mild cognitive impairment; identify gaps in current service provision; understand the first-hand experiences of prisoners living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment; develop a care pathway for prisoners with dementia and mild cognitive impairment; develop dementia and mild cognitive impairment training packages for staff and prisoners; and produce health economic costings for the care pathway and training packages.

There is an ageing population with a related increase in dementia many of whom are likely to experience pain.1 Many more people with dementia are likely to be cared for in the community than in a formal care setting. We know that people with dementia cared for in hospital and nursing home settings experience pain and are treated differently than those who do not have dementia.2 Most research related to people with dementia in pain occurs in these settings and thus provides the evidence base for care. This review seeks to understand what the situation is for those living in the community.

This quick guide aims to support care providers and staff to safeguard people with dementia during the pandemic.

The results of this cohort study suggest that older people experiencing delirium at hospital are twice as likely to develop postdischarge dementia. In this study, one in three acutely ill older people who experienced delirium in the hospital, went on to develop postdischarge dementia. A key strength of this study was the consistency of delirium-screening throughout the patient's time in hospital and the postdischarge timeframe which was a median of 24 months. These statistically significant findings indicate that delirium is a key modifiable risk factor in the development of dementia and preventative care is paramount in older people's wards.

This study was a metasynthesis of qualitative studies relating to reminiscence therapy in dementia care from a patient's perspective. With an emphasis on living well with dementia,2 it is important to understand what living well looks like from the perspective of those with dementia. This study is important from two perspectives: first is the inclusion of people with dementia in research and second is how to transfer knowledge into practice. These will be discussed, respectively. The number of articles retrieved in this study supports the argument that people with dementia are often excluded in research,3 It may have been useful to further explore the methodological characteristics of the studies included in the metasynthesis, such as who was included in these studies, at what stage of the dementia journey the data were collected and provide more details relating to the usefulness of the methods used. Understanding which methods are useful in dementia care research could form a more inclusive approach.

Safeguarding adults with dementia is an important part of everyday work for providers of adult social care. This quick guide aims to support care providers and staff to safeguard people with dementia during the crisis. There are increased concerns that, during the COVID-19 crisis, people may be more vulnerable to abuse or neglect.

There are increased concerns that, during the COVID-19 crisis, people may be more vulnerable to abuse or neglect. This quick guide aims to support care providers and staff to safeguard people with dementia during the crisis.