Search

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore unpaid carers' experiences of supporting people with dementia to use social media.Methods: Unpaid carers (n = 234) responded to an online survey about their attitudes towards people with dementia using social media and any experiences supporting this usage. Responses to closed questions were analysed using frequency analysis; qualitative data were analysed thematically.Results: Fifty-five carers (23.5%) cared for someone with dementia who used social media. Thematic analysis produced four themes: (1) carers as social media navigators; (2) social media supports care; (3) carers as social media guardians; and (4) labour-intensive work. Carers valued the social connectivity and stimulation social media provided but remained vigilant about online safety. They carefully managed the online experiences of people with dementia, balancing perceived benefits with safety, security, and caring demands.Conclusions: These findings shed light on the complexities of caring in the digital age. Many carers are supporting people with dementia in using social media, but there is little guidance on how best to do this. As older adults continue to embrace social media, carers, support organisations, and policymakers must adapt and work with technology developers to ensure safe and supportive online experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Getting a diagnosis of dementia does not equate to equitable access to care. People with dementia and unpaid carers face many barriers to care, which can vary within, and across, different countries and cultures. With little evidence across different countries, the aim of this scoping exercise was to identify the different and similar types of inequalities in dementia across Europe, and provide recommendations for addressing these. Methods: We conducted a brief online survey with INTERDEM and INTERDEM Academy members across Europe, and with members of Alzheimer Europe's European Working Group of People with Dementia and Carers in February and March 2023. Members were asked about whether inequalities in dementia care existed within their country; if yes, to highlight three key inequalities. Responses on barriers were coded into groups, and frequencies of inequalities were calculated. Highlighted inequalities were discussed and prioritised at face‐to‐face and virtual consensus meetings in England, Ireland, Italy, and Poland, involving people with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care providers, and non‐profit organisations. Results: Forty‐nine academics, PhD students, people with dementia and unpaid carers from 10 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Malta, Netherlands, UK) completed the survey. The most frequently identified inequalities focused on unawareness and lack of information, higher level system issues (i.e. lack of communication among care professionals), lack of service suitability, and stigma. Other barriers included workforce training and knowledge, financial costs, culture and language, lack of single‐point‐of‐contact person, age, and living location/postcode lottery. There was general consensus among people living dementia and care providers of unawareness as a key barrier in different European countries, with varied priorities in Ireland depending on geographical location. Conclusions: These findings provide a first insight on dementia inequalities across Europe, generate cross‐country learnings on how to address these inequalities in dementia, and can underpin further solution‐focused research that informs policy and key decision makers to implement changes. Key points: There are numerous similar barriers to accessing dementia care across different European countries.Some of the key challenges to equitable dementia care are lack of workforce knowledge, lack of information, stigma, financial barriers, and lack of communication among care professionals.Cultural challenges, postcode lottery, and service suitability were also raised as key barriers to dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a focus in social psychology on efforts to improve the robustness, rigour, transparency and openness of psychological research. This has led to a plethora of new tools, practices and initiatives that each aim to combat questionable research practices and improve the credibility of social psychological scholarship. However, the majority of these efforts derive from quantitative, deductive, hypothesis‐testing methodologies, and there has been a notable lack of in‐depth exploration about what the tools, practices and values may mean for research that uses qualitative methodologies. Here, we introduce a Special Section of BJSP: Open Science, Qualitative Methods and Social Psychology: Possibilities and Tensions. The authors critically discuss a range of issues, including authorship, data sharing and broader research practices. Taken together, these papers urge the discipline to carefully consider the ontological, epistemological and methodological underpinnings of efforts to improve psychological science, and advocate for a critical appreciation of how mainstream open science discourse may (or may not) be compatible with the goals of qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a lack of existing comprehensive reviews, the aim of this mixed-method systematic review was to synthesise the evidence on the early impacts of the pandemic on unpaid dementia carers across the globe. This review was registered on PROSPERO [CDR42021248050]. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from 2020 to July 2021. Studies were included if they reported on the different impacts of the pandemic on unpaid dementia carers aged 18+, with papers published in English, German, Polish, or Spanish. A number of research team members were involved in the selection of studies following PRISMA guidance. Thirty-six studies (43 papers) from 18 countries reported on the early impact of the pandemic on unpaid dementia carers. Impacts were noted on accessing care and support; carer burden; and well-being. Studies found that carers had limited access to care and support services, increased workload, enhanced feelings of social isolation, and reduced wellbeing. Specifically, reductions in access to care and support increased carer's unpaid caring tasks, removing any opportunities for temporary respite, and thus further increasing carer burden and reducing mental well-being in many. The needs of unpaid dementia carers appear to have increased during the pandemic, without adequate support provided. Policy initiatives need to enable better mental health support and formal care provision for unpaid carers and their relatives with dementia, whilst future research needs to explore the long-term implications of carer needs in light of care home restrictions and care delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media can be used to both enhance and diminish students' experiences of university and its influence is strong for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other non-heterosexual and gender-diverse (LGBTQ+) people facing stigma and discrimination. Students may feel exposed when identifying as LGBTQ+, particularly while transitioning to university life. In this study, we used theories of performance and digital personhood to explore how LGBTQ+ students use social media for identity management. We report a thematic analysis of 16 interviews. Four themes were generated from the data, showing that students use social media to explore, conceal, protect and express their identities. We found that different social media provide stages where LGBTQ+ identities are constrained by different and distinctive social factors. Thus, LGBTQ+ students' online identities are multiple, situated and bound to specific platforms, with some alternatives to Facebook offering a space where students may feel more comfortable performing their authentic selves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined reactions to the UK government's Better Health campaign through a thematic analysis of tweets. Four themes were generated: Embracing Better Health; There is no Better Health without mental health; Inconsistent messaging; Only a surface-level solution. Findings suggest the campaign is problematic, given its lack of consideration for mental health and wider societal factors that contribute to obesity. The campaign could exacerbate mental health difficulties for individuals with eating disorders due to its focus on weight and perceived fat-shaming approach. Recommendations are made to develop future campaigns that avoid negative public responses, minimise harms, and maximise intended benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated the impact that Twitter can have for promoting and discussing a feminist agenda. Given the gendered neoliberalism that exists within academia, tweets under the hashtag "#AcademicTwitter" may also be an important space for feminist praxis. Yet, to our knowledge, there is no empirical work analysing the function of "Academic Twitter" from a distinctly feminist perspective. Thus, we asked "How is Academic Twitter used for feminist praxis?". We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of 596 tweets containing the hashtag #AcademicTwitter. This generated four themes showing how Academic Twitter can be a valuable site for feminist praxis, by enabling academics to "give testimony to academia", "access the hidden curriculum", and engage in both "academic kindness" and "resistance and advocacy". Despite these benefits, we also observed a tension between Academic Twitter as a site for feminist practice yet also as potentially complicit in promoting the competitiveness and overwork that pervades academia. We recommend that future feminist research interrogates the ways in which more diverse forms of feminist praxis, including more negative experiences, are negotiated on Academic Twitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]