Improving Well-being and Health for People with Dementia.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Optimized Person Centred Intervention to Improve Quality of Life for People with Dementia Living in Care Homes. A cluster Randomised Controlled Trial.
IRAS ID
128232
Contact name
Clive Ballard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
250,000 people with dementia in the UK live in care homes. These individuals have complex mental health problems, disabilities and social needs, which if unmet will continue to adversely affect each individual, as well as the main goal of enabling people to ’live well with dementia’ as presented in the National Dementia Strategy (NDS), (Department of Health, 2009).
This optimized intervention (WHELD) is based on a factorial study and qualitative evaluation designed to facilitate the design of this current study and will combine this with the most effective elements of existing approaches to develop a comprehensive but practical intervention to improve quality of life in persons with dementia living in care homes. The intervention will combine training on person centred care, promoting person centred activities and interactions and provide care staff and general practitioners with updated knowledge regarding the optimal use of psychotropic medication for people with dementia in care homes.
The overarching goal of the programme is to determine whether this optimised WHELD intervention is better and more effective in improving the quality of life and mental health, than the usual care provided people with dementia living in care homes.
The cost effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed as well, with the aim to provide a cost effective, simple and practical intervention, improving quality of life and mental health of people with dementia in care homes; which can be rolled out nationally to all UK care homes as an NHS intervention. The trial will be a randomized controlled 2-arm cluster single blind trial that will take place for 9 month across 80 care homes in UK.REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/SC/0281
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jul 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion