| Title of PI | What happens to people with dementia identified in general hospital? |
| Title | Forname | Surname | Institution | Country |
| Dr | Bart | Sheehan | University of Warwick | UK |
| Dr | Heather | Gage | University of Surrey | UK |
| Institution | University of Warwick |
| Street Address | Warwick Medical School |
| City | Warwick |
| Postcode | OX1 3QX |
- United Kingdom
Alzheimer’s Society
263000
01-07-2008
36
- Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
When older people are admitted to hospital for a physical ailment or after an accident, it is sometimes discovered that they suffer from dementia. The hospital may face a pressure to discharge the patient and a decision on where the person should go after hospital may be made quickly and without consultation with the patient, the carer, social services or other relevant people. The selected destination may become their permanent residence.
Dr Bart Sheehan of Warwick University has been awarded a project grant to investigate the range of outcomes for people who are diagnosed with dementia whilst visiting a general hospital for a non-dementia related reason. Dr Sheehan and his group will identify people with dementia in three large general hospitals and use research questionnaires to reliably record several factors including quality of life, stage of dementia and carer stress. The group will then focus on a subset of the people in the study who are discharged to a care home to establish how their expectations compare with their experience of care homes after discharge from hospital. The researchers will also compare longer-term outcomes between patients discharged to their own home and care homes. The findings from this study will influence how nurses, doctors and social workers make decisions on discharge from hospital and how best to involve the patients and carers in the decision-making process
A diagnosis of dementia is often given when an older person is admitted to hospital for other reasons.
The hospital may face pressure to discharge the person. This can mean that the decision on where the person should go is made quickly and without consultation with the person, their carer, or with social services.
The selected destination may become their permanent residence.
Warwick medical school
What does this project involve?
This project is investigating the range of outcomes for people who are diagnosed with dementia whilst visiting a general hospital for a non-dementia related reason.
People with dementia and their carers have been asked to complete research questionnaires to determine how people’s expectations of care homes compare with their experiences after discharge from hospital.
The project is also comparing how the longer-term outcome of people discharged to their own home differs from those in care homes.
How will this benefit people with dementia?
The findings from this study will influence how nurses, doctors and social workers make decisions on discharge from hospital and how best to involve people with dementia and their carers in the decision-making process.
To find out more about the progress of this project please visit the project’s homepage.
- Health and social care research