Understanding pre-assessment counselling (PAC) in dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding pre-assessment counselling in dementia: Its core elements, strengths, limitations and impact upon people living with dementia and their families
IRAS ID
314445
Contact name
Stephen Badham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NIHR ARC East Midlands
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
The research will assess the effectiveness of the pre-assessment counselling (PAC) appointment in providing timely dementia diagnoses and suggest improvements to make and state the essential PAC components. A structured approach to PAC based on all clinical features of the key findings will be devised. This standard will be compared to current HIV pre-assessment counselling practice. The experiences of carers of people who have experienced PAC will be compared with those who have not and measure fear of dementia and wellbeing as so to determine the impact of PAC upon the person presenting with cognitive impairments.
Understanding how and why PAC is useful and effective in reducing stigma and enabling timely diagnoses could improve the quality of the services currently operating and improved patient wellbeing. It provides the opportunity to explore possible fears potentially driven by acknowledged cognitive changes which are often correlated with the level of problems. The research aims to improve increased diagnosis appointments and develop a ‘gold standard of best practice’ that enhances knowledge and understanding, raise the profile and influence key policy makers concerning PAC. Clinically relevant guidance will be determine which will make clear recommendations for how it can be implemented.
Benefits immediately lie with people with dementia (PwD) and their families as PAC seeks to improve wellbeing. Clinicians benefit from the recommendations for best practice through a quality framework devised by PwD, families and PAC practitioners as it would represent a view that is based on the expertise of all stakeholders. If GPs are aware of the value of PAC processes, they can emphasise to individuals who are ambivalent about referral for assessment that this would be the first step. This would have ramifications on the psychological, physical and financial well-being of PwD, their carers and families and society.REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/0758
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion