Reducing antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes

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Clarissa Giebel highlights a recent RCT, which concludes that antipsychotic use by people with dementia in nursing homes can be effectively reduced through the use of a review protocol, which includes regular scrutiny of prescriptions and targeted education for physicians and nurses.

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Can higher educational attainment help lower dementia risk?

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Raluca Lucacel summarises a recent meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies, which investigates the dose-response between education and the risk of dementia.

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Decision making among male carers of people with dementia

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Jeanne Carlin explores a study on decision making in male carers of people with dementia and reflects on her own experiences in interpreting the findings.

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Psychotherapies for depression and anxiety in dementia

The study highlighted a lack of evidence about what CMHT services work for older people.

Clarissa Giebel summarises a recent systematic review that investigates the effectiveness of various psychotherapies (CBT, interpersonal therapy, counselling) for depression and anxiety in people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

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Dementia day programmes: how can we tell if they are effective?

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Caroline Struthers looks at a study on the effectiveness of a NZ dementia day programme but wonders about the use of outcomes measures in the research.

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Impacts of special care unit for older adults with learning disabilities and dementia evaluated over three years

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People with learning disability may be more likely to develop dementia than other people.

Here Ros Hithersay looks at the findings of a three year evaluation of a special care unit for people with dementia.

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Care worker experiences of dementia care in nursing and residential settings

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Jo Moriarty examines research on care worker experiences of supporting people with dementia in residential settings and discovers the value of relationships in a task centred working environment.

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Rivastigmine for Alzheimer’s: is a small cognitive ‘improvement’ worth the risk of feeling physically unwell?

This trial suggests that antipsychotic use can be effectively reduced in nursing homes by using a review protocol.

Rosalyn Nelson presents the latest Cochrane systematic review of Rivastigmine for Alzheimer’s disease, which brings together the results of 7 industry sponsored or funded trials, and concludes that Rivastigmine may be of benefit to people with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Living positively with dementia: findings from a qualitative systematic review

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Clarissa Giebel finds a lot to discuss in a recent qualitative systematic review about living positively with dementia.

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German lessons for dementia care mapping in England?

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Clarissa Giebel assesses a study from her native Germany into the effectiveness of dementia care mapping for improving quality of life in nursing homes.

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