Tag Archives: dementia

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CaHRU contributes to Research and Innovation conference

elcock_lpft Professor Niro Siriwardena was a keynote speaker at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s (LPFT) Research and Innovation Conference which took place at Branston Hall on 8 March 2018. The conference was chaired by Dr Sue Elcock, medical director at LPFT. The event, which was attended by over 100 delegates, included keynote talks from Chris Roberts, Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador, Professor Belinda Lennox of the University of Oxford and Dr Joanna Moncrieff of University College London.

chrisroberts_lpftChris Roberts, who himself has dementia and his wife, Jayne Goodrick spoke on ‘Join dementia research ‘handing out hope’ and the importance of those with the condition and their families engaging with studies into the condition as a means of providing possibilities for future treatment and care. Professor Cox spoke on her ground-breaking work on psychosis and immunity on ‘Could psychosis be a treatable immune disorder?’ This was followed by workshops on ‘How to make a first step into a clinical academic career’, ‘Taking a stab at research’, ‘How research improved practice’ and ‘Falls prevention in care homes’.

 

niro_lpftAfter lunch there followed LPFT’s innovation bid winners and how they had developed their ideas. Another example of ‘How to develop your ideas into research’ and the importance of collaboration between the NHS and the University of Lincoln was presented by Dr Amulya Nadkarni (consultant in child and adolescent mental health), Sophie Keogh (undertaking a research secondment at the Lincoln Institute for Health), Prof Siriwardena of CaHRU. They discussed how the collaboration began, how the ideas for research emerged, progress on current work on a systematic review of ‘Effects of non-pharmacological interventions for insomnia in children with Autistic Spectrum Condition, and how this was planned to lead to future work.

The final talk was from Dr Moncrieff on ‘Get involved – research into reducing or stopping antipsychotic medication’, how drugs could we withdrawn in some patients on these drugs and the programme of research which included a randomised controlled trial of antipsychotic withdrawal.

By Prof Niro Siriwardena

 

 

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New study from CaHRU on caregivers for people with dementia

brainA qualitative study exploring the experiences and perceptions of informal carers of people with dementia when interacting with health care services was published this month in the journal Dementia. The study entitled ‘Caregivers’ interactions with health care services – Mediator of stress or added strain? Experiences and perceptions of informal caregivers of people with dementia – A qualitative study’ was undertaken by Despina Laparidou (lead author), Dr Jo Middlemass, Professor Terence Karran and Prof Niro Siriwardena.

IMG_0923The study explored carers’ unmet needs for both information/knowledge about dementia and support from healthcare services. The researchers found that carers would greatly benefit from detailed information on disease progression, guidelines and tips on dealing with challenging behaviours, as well as information on financial and legal advice. Carers also felt that health and social care services are often fragmented, making it harder for them to receive the support they need and want.

CaHRU_logotypeAt the same time, healthcare professionals stated that while they have a theoretical knowledge of the disease, they felt they often lack knowledge of how it is to live with dementia, which can make it difficult to know how best to support carers. Another interesting finding of the study was that having carers keep a daily diary of symptoms and behaviour could help to empower carers and facilitate communications with healthcare professionals.

The research team hopes to expand this study and develop an educational intervention for informal carers of people with dementia.

By Despina Laparidou

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CaHRU at SAPC Annual Scientific Meeting in Dublin 2016

Despina A team from CaHRU, Dr Coral Sirdifield, Dr Jo Middlemass, Despina Laparidou and Professor Niro Siriwardena, attended the 45th Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Society of Academic Primary Care (SAPC) held at Dublin Castle from 6th-8th July where they gave oral, elevator and poster presentations. The conference opening plenary was given by Prof Margaret Cupples from Belfast who spoke on non-pharmacological interventions for cardiovascular prevention. After parallel session and posters Prof Chris Dowrick delivered the 3rd Helen Lester memorial lecture on his work on depression and mental illness, and this was followed by a drinks reception at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

JoDespina Laparidou (above right) gave an oral presentation on challenges for carers of people with dementia and their support needs from health and social care providers. Jo Middlemass (left) gave an elevator presentation on perceptions and experiences of telemonitoring in older patients with multimorbidity. Niro Siriwardena presented on behalf of Jolien Vos on personal care networks of older people with multimorbidity. Coral Sirdifield presented her poster entitled ‘What does qualitative research on patients’ experiences tell us about how to support safer prescribing of benzodiazepines and and z-drugs?’ Dr Zahid Ashgar’s Dublinposter entitled ‘Suspected cross-sectional study of factors associated with transport to hospital after a suspected convulsion or seizure’ was also presented at the conference.

While they were there, the team also had a little time to sample the cultural delights of Dublin including open air music, Irish dancing and the lively Temple Bar, culminating in an enjoyable conference dinner on Thursday evening.

By Jo Middlemass

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CaHRU hosts second East Midlands Research into Ageing Network regional seminar at University of Lincoln

Emran-png-250The Community and Health Research Unit, as part of the work of the centre’s Healthier Aging programme of research, recently hosted the second East Midlands Research into Ageing Network (EMRAN) seminar that took place at the University of Lincoln on 25 November 2015 and which focused on the care of older people in the community. The seminar started with a brief presentation by Professor John Gladman and Chris Craig on EMRAN’s purpose to facilitate collaborative applied research into ageing and older people research across the East Midlands and a brief update on EMRAN’s progress, including recent publications and projects which are being developed thanks to EMRAN’s intervention.

jo1The first part of the seminar included four ‘Elevator Pitches’. Dr Carlos Rodriguez Pascual (University of Lincoln; Lincoln County Hospital) presented his project on frailty and cardiovascular disease, exploring how a combination of a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) score and frailty is a predictor of cardiovascular disease in an older person. The second pitch, presented by Dr Jo Middlemass (CaHRU, University of Lincoln), outlined findings from the ‘CArers of people with Dementia: Empowerment and Efficacy via Education’ (CAD: E3) project that aims to improve carer and patient well-being by offering carers of people with dementia a multicomponent intervention (focusing on education and skill-building). The third pitch, presented by Dr Fiona Marshall (University of Nottingham), looked at a project aimed at creating more dementia friendly areas, by gathering local information (through geo-spatial mapping) of what health, social, religious groups, community and voluntary services (amongst others) there are for older people living in the Peak District of Derbyshire. Finally, Dr Gill Garden (United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust) presented the very successful Bromhead Care Home service, which involved training care home staff so they can more confidently and effectively deliver care in care homes and reduce admissions to hospitals.

EMAS - PTS 7Professor Niro Siriwardena (Director of CaHRU, University of Lincoln) delivered the second part of the seminar, presenting the work of CaHRU and ideas for developing new projects involving ambulance services: ‘Pathways for Older People from Ambulance Services to Safe Community Care’. The aim of the presentation was to show that paramedics, apart from safely transporting patients, can also offer important treatment and refer patients who don’t require hospitalisation to community services that are often more adequately equipped to care or support them. After the successful SAFER-2 trial (Support and Assessment for Fall and Emergency Referrals), exploring how ambulance staff could assess and divert older people who had suffered a fall to appropriate community-based services, Prof Siriwardena and his colleagues at the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) are currently interested in exploring other conditions, such as hypoglycaemia, epilepsy and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) which may also be amenable to community pathways.

After a quick recess for some much needed tea and coffee, the attendees split into small groups to discuss the projects presented earlier, focusing on possible challenges and solutions to the design and conduct of each study, and consider ideas for further research and exciting collaborations. The seminar came to a close with Chris Craig and Prof John Gladman thanking everyone for their participation and with a promise for more similar events and innovative seminars.

Despina Laparidou

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CAHRU at the College of Social Science Summer Conference

IMG-20150703-WA0002CaHRU members, Viet-Hai Phung, Ana Godoy and Dr Jo Middlemass all presented posters at the recent College of Social Science Summer Conference, held at the University of Lincoln Business School on Thursday 2nd July. The purpose of the Conference was to showcase a range of work from across the College of Social Science that had been funded by its small grants scheme.

IMG-20150703-WA0000Ana was busiest as she presented four posters: Resources for Effective Sleep Treatment utilising Community Pharmacists (REST-UP), bisphosphonates and stroke and two for Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC)! Jo and Viet-Hai presented their work on dementia and ethnic inequalities in prehospital care respectively. All six posters generated considerable interest from attendees. Research from the wider School of Health and Social Care was also very well represented. Alongside the poster sessions were three sessions with 20 oral presentations from PhD students and staff. As with the posters, the oral presentations captured the diversity of the College’s work: from the work of the Red Cross to the future of Christmas markets; from gender identities and football through to the psychology of decision-making; from empathy in nursing to branding cities.

Viet-Hai_posterIt is sometimes felt that students and academics rarely know what research colleagues in other parts of a School or College do. If the university is serious about raising awareness about the work of different departments, schools and colleges, then events such as this should become a permanent fixture in the academic calendar.

Viet-Hai Phung