Professional/Short course Principles of Dementia Care

Content

This multi-professional level 6 (undergraduate level) or level 7 (Masters level) course syllabus typically includes:

Person centred care:

• Development of theories relating to person centred dementia care.
• Maintaining identity/Promoting Agency through occupation/Sharing decision making.
• The promotion of personhood and selfhood despite dementia.
• Global psychological and emotional considerations of the person with dementia.

Complexities of care:

• The inter relationship of physical and mental health in people with dementia.
• Psycho-social approaches to challenging issues in care; non-pharmacological approaches in dementia care.
• Ethical aspects of dementia care and ethical decision making.
• Aspects of positive communication with people with dementia.
• Malignant social psychology and care cultures.
• The assessment of people with learning disability and dementia.
• Behavioural and psychological symptoms and dementia and promoting working with unmet need.

Family work and dementia:

• Creating effective partnerships with carers and families and the impact of caring for a person with dementia on family relationships.
• Anticipatory death/grief.

Socio-cultural aspects of dementia:

• The experience of black and ethnic minorities, and dementia, including sociocultural differences in care giving roles.

Patho-physiology:

• Patho-physiology of dominant dementia syndromes and lifestyle associated risk factors for dementia.
• Relevant pharmacological approaches and outcomes.

Practice development:

• Models of change to enhance aspects of clinical practice.
• Resistors to change in clinical practice.
• Partnership approaches to aspects of services that can enhance the lives of people with dementia and their carers.

Learning and Teaching

Delivery of this module is via distance learning (online).

The module will be supported by a Blackboard module site where a range of course materials will be available. You will be expected to access reading materials through the Blackboard site, and engage with additional activities such as accessing video and weblinks.

Discussion boards will be enabled for student use, facilitated by the module leader. A range of TEL resources will be utilised as directed study activities.

Study time

You will typically attend online taught sessions one day a week for eight weeks (each day six hours) over the course of the module.

Assessment

A 3,000 word assignment.

At level 6, you are expected to critically evaluate, synthesise and provide evidence based perspectives to support their argument. This should include a critical exploration of the literature and a debate of the wider sociopolitical implications of dementia care that may impact on the person's care.

At level 7, you are expected to critically evaluate, synthesise and provide independent perspectives regarding the practice/service development. This should include a critical exploration of the literature and a debate of the wider socio-political implications of dementia care that may impact on the successful implementation of the development.