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People living with dementia may live in relationship with partners, family members, and significant others. Dementia has been shown to impact on such relationships but relationships also impact on the dementia condition. Thirteen people took part in the study: all were caring for a person living with dementia and two were themselves living with dementia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants focusing on changes in close relationships, including changes in intimate (sexual) relationships where appropriate. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified: changes in couple relationships; changes in non-partner relationships; talking about oneself in relationship; and talking about people with dementia in relationship. In conclusion, participants' lived experiences highlight the need for ongoing relational support and an education-based counseling program that could potentially address many of participants' highlighted needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the nature of their professional training and practice placements, social work students are prone to situations provoking the onset of anxiety. A programme of academic and placement support, termed the ‘Skills Lab’, provides help and support for students to develop their communication skills and prepare for their practice placements and transition into professional social work practice. Skills Lab evaluations indicated a high level of appreciation, linked with a strong sense of apprehension and anxiety, which some students report has negatively affected their performance. To address student anxiety, a pilot study using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) was developed. EFT is an intervention, which may potentially be effective in reducing academic anxiety and enhancing public speaking. This mixed-methods pilot study measured participants’ (n = 45) subjective distress and anxiety before and after using EFT. Subjective distress/anxiety was invoked through a 15-min assignment lecture. Twelve of the 45 students also participated in one-one interviews to elaborate on their experiences of EFT. Quantitative findings indicated participants reported significantly less subjective distress and anxiety after using EFT. Qualitative findings indicated three themes whereby participants found EFT calming, relaxing and helpful; considered the transferability of EFT in other settings; and proposed some of the mechanisms of EFT’s action. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Educating and training the dementia workforce is a global challenge, given the expected increasing number of people living with dementia across the world as the population ages. Two projects from the UK (one regionally and one locality based) investigated courses available to the workforce and mapped the content of identified courses against a locally developed dementia care pathway. The locality project included a survey of what percentage of staff time was spent with people living with dementia, and what percentage of staff caseloads were devoted to people living with dementia. There was a great variation in the extent of education and training available, with some stages of the dementia care pathway poorly addressed. An educational strategy for the dementia workforce in the UK might include four categories of education and training: basic dementia awareness, intermediate level, advanced level, and dementia awareness for managers. Staff requiring education and training might be divided into three groups: those employed to work specifically with people living with dementia and their families; those working with people who have other conditions but some of whom will have a coincidental dementia; those working with other conditions but in settings where a high proportion of their patients have a comorbid dementia. To improve workforce skills in dementia care will require actions across the whole of education and training for professionals and untrained workers who provide services to this group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]