Dementia and physical health care: care accounts of the inpatient experience

Telford, Elina 2015. Dementia and physical health care: care accounts of the inpatient experience. ClinPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Dementia is a growing global concern and a high proportion of people with dementia come in to contact with acute medical care settings. However, little is understood of how people with dementia experience hospital stays. The current study therefore set out to explore the experiences of people with dementia when they are hospitalized for physical health conditions. Due to the limitations in the cognitive capacity of those with moderate or advanced dementia, the experiences were studied indirectly through accounts with family carers. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken with eight carers from across England and Wales. In each case they cared for a person with dementia who had been admitted to hospital for a physical health condition at least once within the last eighteen months or who was currently in hospital. A Constructivist Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze the data and three key themes were identified: ‘course of illness in the community,’ ‘experience of organization care’ and ‘transitions in care.’ The themes were discussed in the context of the results of previous related studies, including studies that were included in a systematic review of the existing literature. The findings were suggested to have a number of implications for delivering inpatient services to people with dementia. These include implications related to: staff training and the monitoring of the effectiveness of training interventions; clinical practice in hospitals; the involvement of people with dementia and their carers in care and discharge planning; and the engagement of carers with formal support organizations. Limitations of the current study are discussed and a number of recommendations are made for further research on topics related to the current research.

Item Type:	Thesis (DClinPsy)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2023 16:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/76803

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