CARE in Dementia

Centre for Applied Research and Education in Dementia

Working together to improve dementia care

The Centre for Applied Research and Education (CARE) in Dementia was set up in 2012 primarily for decision making, information sharing, and establishing an identity and point of contact within the University for dementia work. The Centre also works to oversee and progress the dementia educational offer at the University, in partner organisations, and in providers of dementia care services.

The Centre sits within the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing and its quarterly meetings bring together representatives from across the University and from partner organisations who have a shared interest in dementia.

Dementia Strategy

CARE in Dementia Strategy 2016.

CARE in Dementia shares the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing’s ethos of engaging with the public to add perspective and value to the work we do. Our client and carer involvement group SUCCESS are represented at our meetings and are invited to contribute to the development of our research projects. We also work with external partners to gain the perspectives of the wider Wolverhampton community.

CARE in Dementia includes a number of researchers who have been involved in evaluations of a wide range of projects and services both within and outside of the NHS. We also work with external partners to develop innovative projects such as our ‘Smart Poster’ project in collaboration with the City of Wolverhampton Council, which sought to measure the potential of using interactive mobile technology to increase awareness of dementia in the community and in public and private sector organisations.

Our researchers collaborate throughout the Faculty on several research projects including examining risk factors for dementia, non-pharmacological interventions and other care issues related to aging and dementia. We also have a number of postdoctoral research students working on dementia-related projects, such as looking at lifestyle predictors of dementia.

We are always keen to hear from others with a research interest in dementia and are able to facilitate supervision of student projects in this field. If you would like to discuss a project with us, please contact: CARE@wlv.ac.uk.

Dementia training is featured on our nursing, sport science and social work courses at the University of Wolverhampton. We also have a specific Level 7 module (Concepts in Dementia Care) which brings a contemporary perspective to the interdisciplinary care and treatment of service users diagnosed with Dementia and their carers and families from diagnosis through to end of life care. CARE in Dementia are working to develop a range of e-learning packages for use by our students and the wider care workforce. We also work with external partners to deliver bespoke dementia education programmes, such as Person-First training (distress) with Burton Hospital and contribution to the curriculum at the new Health Futures UTC.

If you are interested in applying for our Concepts in Dementia Care module or would like further information about any other dementia training please contact Jayne Murphy, Senior Lecturer (J.S.Murphy@wlv.ac.uk).

CARE in Dementia are represented at a range of partner events and networks, including the Higher Education Dementia Network and the Wolverhampton Local Dementia Action Alliance. The Centre has also contributed to the Joint Dementia Strategy with the City of Wolverhampton Council.

We continually update our Dementia Action Alliance Action Plan to reflect our progress and updated strategies for delivering better outcomes for people living with dementia and their carers. We are now also members of the Wolverhampton and Telford & Wrekin Local Alliances.

For more information about the Centre please contact CARE@wlv.ac.uk or read our CARE in Dementia Strategy 2016.

University of Wolverhampton's Dementia Commitment

In 2014, the University of Wolverhampton joined the Dementia Action Alliance, which is a group of over 700 organisations who are all pledging do their part to help improve outcomes for people living with dementia. We have updated our Action Plan to reflect our progress and updated strategies for delivering better outcomes for people living with dementia and their carers. We are now also members of the Wolverhampton and Telford & Wrekin Local Alliances.

In this video Professor Geoff Layer, Vice Chancellor of the University, signs our Dementia Commitment Statement (PDF) and talks about some of the ways in which the University is encouraging and providing support for projects that deliver meaningful benefits to the local community. Professor Linda Lang, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, also talks about our Centre for Applied Research and Education (CARE) in Dementia.

News and Events

Wolverhampton Dementia Information Event

Research Project: Help-seeking among family caregivers to people showing early signs of dementia

This research project is being led by Dr Angela Clifford, Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing. It aims to better understand the views, decisions and experiences of seeking help by people who suspect a loved one is showing early signs of dementia, their support needs at this time, and what factors may have impacted on their seeking help. There is currently little knowledge about help-seeking behaviour among family caregivers prior to their loved one receiving a diagnosis and this knowledge will help inform planning and policy to equip healthcare professionals and others to better support people at this time and respond to their emotional and practical needs.

This project is funded by the University of Wolverhampton’s Early Research Award Scheme (ERAS). For further information about the study please visit Angela’s ERAS profile or contact her directly (angela.clifford@wlv.ac.uk).

 

Wolverhampton granted Dementia Friendly Community status

The City of Wolverhampton was officially granted Dementia Friendly Community status by the Alzheimer's Society in recognition of the efforts being made by members of Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance to improve services for people living with dementia, and their families and carers. You can read more about this on our news page.

 

Research Project: MinD - Designing for people with dementia

The MinD project, led by Dr Kristina Niedderer (Professor of Design and Craft, Faculty of Arts), aims to help people with dementia engage in social contexts to improve psychosocial wellbeing. People who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias often face cognitive, behavioural and psychosocial difficulties, including impairment and degeneration of memory and of perceptions of identity. In a social context, this can cause difficulties of recognizing, relating to and empathising with other people. These difficulties often pose a challenge for engaging socially, reinforcing their effects and reducing personal well-being.

Design can offer novel ways of complementing existing care approaches to empower people with dementia in everyday social situations. Utilising the concept of mindful design, we will investigate innovative design solutions to enable self-empowerment and confidence building of people living with dementia.

This project is funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions Research and Innovations Staff Exchange programme. For further information about this project please visit the project website. 

 

Published research articles

One of the University's PhD students, Aisha Bakre, colleagues within CARE in Dementia and external partners have had their research published in Public Health Nutrition. The research, which combines original data from a large cohort study in China with a systematic review and meta-analysis, reveals a relationship between fish consumption and reduced risk of dementia.

Researchers within CARE in Dementia have published new research demonstrating a high prevalence of undiagnosed dementia worldwide, as well as some of the factors that contribute to the risk of dementia going undetected. Their systematic review and meta-analysis has been published in the journal BMJ Open.

Another paper written by the team reveals the detrimental risks of air pollution to brain function throughout a person’s lifespan. The research is published in the journal 'Environmental Research'. For more information about this research please see our News page.

 

Dementia Friends

So far at the University we have delivered Dementia Friends sessions to over 500 staff and students. Following high demand, we will be holding further Dementia Friends sessions over the coming months. These sessions provide an opportunity for attendees to learn more about dementia and to turn that understanding into action. You can register your interest in attending a session by emailing us at CARE@wlv.ac.uk but you can now also complete the session online with the Alzheimer's Society.