Browsing by Person "Ward, Richard"

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A different story: exploring patterns of communication in residential dementia care
(2008-07) Ward, Richard; Vass, Antony A.; Aggarwal, Neeru; Garfield, Cydonie; Cybyk, Beau
This article reports findings from a three-year project on 'Communication patterns and their consequences for effective care' that explored communication in dementia-care settings. As the proportion of people with dementia living in British care-homes continues to grow, there is a need to understand better their care. Using a range of qualitative methods, the project set out to identify the constituent elements of dementia-care practice and the patterns that characterise day-to-day relations in care homes. The tightly prescribed and standardised nature of the interactions between staff and residents is described: it raises questions about the capacity for dementia care to be truly person-centred. The project found that people with dementia are both capable of communication, and invest much effort in seeking to engage those around them, but are excluded from the monitoring, planning and provision of care in ways that we argue are discriminatory. The case is made for promoting and supporting communication as key skills and competencies for care workers. The value of measuring the level and quality of communication as a means to evaluate care is demonstrated. The authors question the priorities that currently guide care practice and argue that we need to listen to people with dementia and rethink what lies at the heart of dementia care. 2008 Cambridge University Press.
Evaluation of the Angus Gold Project (a partnership approach to digital education and social inclusion) RF 8/2008
(Queen Margaret University, 2008-10-24) Ward, Richard; Ferguson, Julie; Murray, Sue; Scottish Government
This Research Findings provides a brief summary of findings from an evaluation of Angus Gold, (a digital inclusion initiative allied to a broader programme of health education and improvements by engagement with services of the 50+ population) piloted in Angus between March 2004 and late 2007. It identifies lessons learned.
Evidence of what works to support and sustain care at home for people with dementia: a literature review with a systematic approach
(BioMed Central, 2015-04-21) Dawson, Alison; Bowes, Alison; Kelly, Fiona; Velzke, Kari; Ward, Richard
Background This paper synthesises research evidence about the effectiveness of services intended to support and sustain people with dementia to live at home, including supporting carers. The review was commissioned to support an inspection regime and identifies the current state of scientific knowledge regarding appropriate and effective services in relation to a set of key outcomes derived from Scottish policy, inspection practice and standards. However, emphases on care at home and reduction in the use of institutional long term care are common to many international policy contexts and welfare regimes. Methods Systematic searches of relevant electronic bibliographic databases crossing medical, psychological and social scientific literatures (CINAHL, IngentaConnect, Medline, ProQuest, PsychINFO and Web of Science) in November 2012 were followed by structured review and full-text evaluation processes, the latter using methodology-appropriate quality assessment criteria drawing on established protocols. Results Of 131 publications evaluated, 56 were assessed to be of 'high' quality, 62 of 'medium' quality and 13 of 'low' quality. Evaluations identified weaknesses in many published accounts of research, including lack of methodological detail and failure to evidence conclusions Thematic analysis revealed multiple gaps in the evidence base, including in relation to take-up and use of self-directed support by people with dementia, use of rapid response teams other multidisciplinary approaches, use of technology to support community dwelling people with dementia, and support for people without access to unpaid or informal support.