| CODE | GER5106 | ||||||
| TITLE | Community and Residential Services for Dementia Care | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Gerontology and Dementia Studies | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will explore formal care service provision in community and residential settings for persons with dementia. It focuses on the role of the multidisciplinary team in relation to deciding the most appropriate care services for persons with dementia, whether applying for community-based services or taking up residence in long-term care. On one hand, the study-unit discusses good practices in community services such as awareness campaigns that highlight the importance of brain health and dementia risk reduction, ranging from national dementia helplines which allow persons with dementia and their carers to discuss needs and connect to a range of programmes and services, outreach counselling and support, memory loss and reminiscence programmes in community or hospital centres – as well as social and therapeutic programmes that aim to educate and support people living with dementia, and their family carers or friends. On the other hand, the study-unit discusses how persons with dementia are generally admitted into long-term care in the latter stages of their illness so that it is incredibly important that the care home offers a supportive environment. This includes appropriate signage, colour coding for toilet doors and walls, introducing a homely feel to ward and individual bathrooms, breaking up large stretches of corridor with 'rest areas' and using themes so as to help orientate the resident. The study-unit will also discuss at length the use of services such as reminiscence therapy, sensory activities, garden areas, and doll and pet therapy, in enabling a smoother transition from community living to long-term care, as well as ascertaining that persons with dementia on long-term care enjoy a positive quality of life. The study-unit will provide an understanding of the various challenges experienced by people with dementia in acute hospital settings. Students will be able to critically analyse the different aspects of designing settings for people with dementia, through better use of spaces and light. The use of assistive technology in dementia is also covered in this unit. An overview of the literature on long-term care is conducted and the various aspects and issues related to care provision within a residential setting are discussed. The study-unit concludes with a review of palliative and end-of-life care in the later stages of dementia. Study-unit Aims: 1) To examine current approaches for community and residential services for older people with dementia; 2) To perform a comprehensive overview of the appropriate service provisions at the various stages of dementia; 3) To illustrate best practices in community and residential services for older persons with dementia. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate, using appropriate examples, the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers and how these are met through the provision of various community services; - apply critical thinking skills when describing the challenges faced by people with dementia and how these can be addressed through a person-centred approach and dementia-friendly design; - conduct observations and critically analyse the various policy and service issues in residential care. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - practice the initial assessment, investigation and diagnosis of people with dementia and describe the provision of a memory clinic service; - list and appraise the roles of each member in the multi-disciplinary team in the provision of rehabilitation and community support for older persons with dementia care; - administer a pragmatic and analytical framework to discuss key issues in the care of people with dementia in acute hospital settings; - conduct a critical understanding of a palliative approach in the later stages of dementia care. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main text: - Marshall M. (2005). Perspectives on rehabilitation and dementia. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Supplementary texts: - Andrews. J. (2015). Dementia – The one-stop guide. Practical advice for families, professionals, and people living with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Profile Books Limited. London. - Brooker, D., & Lillyman, S. (2013). Dementia Care. Routledge. - Downs, M., & Bowers, B. (2014). Excellence in dementia care: research into practice. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). - Power, A. (2014). Dementia beyond drugs. Health Professions Press. - Stokes, G. (2010). And Still the Music Plays: Stories of people with dementia. Hawker Publications Ltd; 2nd edition. - Waite, J., Harwood, R., Morton, I., & Connelly, D. (2008). Dementia care: a practical manual. Oxford University Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Group Learning | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Stephen Abela |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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