Adopt a Care Home in Discover magazine

The Adopt a Care Home scheme features in the current edition of the University of Sheffield’s discover magazine.

The Adopt a Care Home scheme links care homes with local schools. The Adopt a Care Home scheme was set up to enable people with dementia to become more involved in their local community, to feel better about themselves and to teach children about dementia. Laura Di Bona and Sheila Kennedy  researchers from the University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research carried out an evaluation of the pilot of  the Adopt a Care Home scheme. One care home and one school took part in the pilot and its evaluation. Forty-one children aged nine or ten were taught about dementia in school. Sixteen of them went on visits to their local care home to meet people with dementia. The children and people with dementia made “Lifestory” booklets together, in which they shared information about themselves and their lives.

The findings of the evaluation suggested the Adopt a Care Home scheme increased dementia awareness in children.  The children knew very little about dementia at the beginning but knew more by the end of the scheme. The findings also suggested that participating in the Adopt a Care Home scheme was enjoyable for many of the people with dementia . None were upset by the experience. The school and care home felt the scheme went well and are carrying on with it.

The scheme itself was established by and is run by Sheffield City Council. It has featured on Channel 4 news and BBC Radio Sheffield.

The scheme is ongoing and Laura Di Bona is seeking further funding to research its potential benefits in more depth.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the scheme, its evaluation and future plans or collaborations should contact Laura Di Bona: l.dibona@sheffield.ac.uk

For further information about the Adopt a Care Home scheme and to read a copy of the Adopt a Care Home evaluation report please go to: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/caresupport/professionals-providers/scap/asc-pilots/care-home-adopt.html

To view the Channel 4 News feature please go to:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/channel-4-news

or

https://t.co/V9Y5ScP4QK

 

Laura Di Bona researcher / occupational therapist

NHS Test Beds announced

Older patients and people with long term conditions and mental health problems will be among the first to benefit from a major new drive to modernise how the NHS delivers care.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens launched the first wave of NHS Innovation ‘Test Beds’.

These collaborations between the NHS and innovators – including Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), IBM and Philips – aim to harness technology to address some of the most complex issues facing patients and the health service.

Frontline health and care workers in seven areas will pioneer and evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and ways of working which will help patients stay well and monitor their conditions themselves at home.

Successful innovations will then be available for other parts of the country to adopt and adapt to the particular needs of their local populations.

Sites are:

 

North East London

Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale

Lancashire and Cumbria

Sheffield City Region

Birmingham and Solihull

West of England

Surrey and Borders

Please click here to find out more.

Adopt a Care Home in the News

The Adopt a Care Home scheme was featured on Channel 4 News just before Christmas.

The Adopt a Care Home scheme links care homes with local schools. The Adopt a Care Home scheme was set up to enable people with dementia to become more involved in their local community, to feel better about themselves and to teach children about dementia. Laura Di Bona and Sheila Kennedy  from the University of Sheffield carried out an evaluation of the pilot of  the Adopt a Care Home scheme. One care home and one school took part in the pilot and its evaluation. Forty-one children aged nine or ten were taught about dementia in school. Sixteen of them went on visits to their local care home to meet people with dementia. The children and people with dementia made “Lifestory” booklets together, in which they shared information about themselves and their lives.

The findings of the evaluation suggested the Adopt a Care Home scheme increased dementia awareness in children.  The children knew very little about dementia at the beginning but knew more by the end of the scheme. The findings also suggested that participating in the Adopt a Care Home scheme was enjoyable for many of the people with dementia . None were upset by the experience. The school and care home felt the scheme went well and are carrying on with it.

Channel 4 news presenter Christine Oldfield interviewed Laura Di Bona about her evaluation and collaborators from Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Trust and Prince Edward Primary School about the scheme. The Channel 4 news feature showcased the scheme in action with children talking to people with dementia in a care home and then discussing their learning about dementia back in the classroom.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the scheme, its evaluation and future plans should contact Laura Di Bona: l.dibona@sheffield.ac.uk

For further information about the Adopt a Care Home scheme and to read a copy of the Adopt a Care Home evaluation report please visit this link.

To view the Channel 4 News feature please go to the channel 4 news link here. Alternatively you can visit YouTube.