Care homes to take in lonely, older people for free over Christmas

While the Christmas build-up is a time of excitement for many, for the thousands of older people living alone, it signals a countdown to the time of year when feelings of isolation and anxiety can be at their greatest.

As part of its annual Companionship at Christmas campaign, care homes belonging to Abbeyfield Society will open their doors for six weeks to provide overnight stays, meals and entertainment for people affected by loneliness, completely free of charge.

With an estimated 500,000 older people expected to spend Christmas alone, Abbeyfield chief executive, David McCullough, said: “The Christmas build up resonates with excitement and celebration for many of us, yet it’s a time when older people can feel at their most isolated and alone. Their usual clubs or activities close down for Christmas, relatives are dotted across the UK far away from them and feelings of bereavement for lost loved ones is amplified at a time when families traditionally come together.

“Abbeyfield was founded over 60 years ago in response to the crippling loneliness endured by a forgotten generation of older people. That ethos continues today with campaigns such as Companionship at Christmas as Abbeyfield continues to enrich the lives of older people and make their later years happy, easy and more fulfilled.”

Now in its eighth year, Companionship at Christmas has offered a lifeline of warmth and friendship to thousands of older people at Christmas, such as 83-year-old Ron Hoverd, who lives on the Isle of Wight.

The former RAF corporal and his wife, Mary, were inseparable during their 45-years of marriage but her death left him devastated and struggling to cope.

Ron said: “I couldn’t have had a better woman which made losing her so difficult. I watched her die, which was heart-breaking. After the funeral I reached rock bottom and was struggling to get by. I was so lonely. Everything was so quiet.”

For Ron, who has no immediate family, Christmas was one of the most difficult times. “There’s nothing worse than being on your own at Christmas,” he said. “You know you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself, but you’re sat there by yourself, wishing the day would end.”

Age UK put Ron in touch with his local Abbeyfield House in Cowes, where staff invited him to join them for Christmas Day lunch, and since then, he has become a regular at Abbeyfield Clifton House.

“It’s a lifesaver from my point of view,” he said. “It means so much having Abbeyfield there.”

Abbeyfield patron Aled Jones will be bringing Christmas cheer to the charity’s Victoria House in South West London on 27 November, where he will be supporting the campaign with a Christmas singalong for residents. The popular singer and presenter will also be helping to carve the turkey at a Christmas lunch on 28 November at The Kingslodge Inn, County Durham.

He said: “I’m very much looking forward to sharing an early Christmas with Abbeyfield residents and getting into the Christmas spirit! Christmas is a time of love and sharing and no one should be alone at Christmas.”

SOURCE: carehome.co.uk, Melissa McAlees

Aging for Amateurs: Hearing loss tied to dementia

Earlier this year, a group of international experts on dementia commissioned by The Lancet, a British medical journal, to study “dementia prevention, intervention and care,” reported their findings.

Part of the report took a fresh look at risk factors for dementia and found that more than a third of our risk is likely modifiable. That is, we can do something about it, as opposed to risk controlled by genetics. Most of the modifiable risk factors have been discussed in previous columns (increasing formal education, controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, exercising regularly, avoiding obesity and smoking, treating depression adequately and being socially engaged). But the single strongest potentially modifiable risk factor in their research was a surprise to me and many others — hearing loss.

According to their calculations, 35 percent of dementia can be blamed on the nine risk factors listed above. Among those factors, more than one-fourth is linked to hearing loss. 

Why does hearing loss make dementia more likely? The mechanism for creating problems with thinking due to decreased hearing is “not yet clear," according to the authors of the report, but is probably related to adding to the “cognitive load” of a vulnerable brain. If you don’t hear well, it makes the brain work harder to try to interpret what is going on around it, increasing levels of background stress in many minute-by-minute interactions. In addition, not hearing well may lead to increased risk of social disengagement and even depression.

Certain subgroups seem more likely to develop poor hearing. Men are twice as likely as women to have hearing impairment. Years in school also seem to matter, less education is associated with hearing loss. However, noise on the job (previously associated with lower education levels in workers) didn’t seem to matter, even though very loud noise can damage hearing.

People are exposed to less noise at work than they were 30-50 years ago due to changes in regulations regarding noise on the job and an increase in white collar positions. Obesity also increases the risk for hearing loss, as does smoking and poorly controlled diabetes (but the high level of risk for dementia due to hearing loss is present even without these “co-factors”).

What can we do to protect our hearing? First, avoid very loud noises. Prolonged exposure to any noise over 85 decibels (dB), such as heavy city traffic, a busy school cafeteria or a lawn mower, can cause gradual hearing loss.

No more than 15 minutes of unprotected exposure to noise above 100dB (wood shop, snowmobile, maximum volume level of a personal listening device) is recommended.

Remember that few types of headphones shut out all or even most ambient noise, so listening to music on your iPhone or other device while mowing the lawn creates additive noise levels. Regular exposure to more than a minute of 110dB noise risks permanent hearing loss (rock concerts, ambulance sirens, jet take-offs, fireworks at close range , shotgun blasts, etc.)

If your ears ring after a noise exposure, this suggests that a least a tiny bit of permanent damage has been done to your hearing. 

What about dietary supplements? We have said before that a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (filling half our plates when we eat) is better than a load of supplements. Research suggests that folate, beta-carotene and other carotenoids, and omega-3 fats are some of the likely protective components, but there are likely many more in that half plate of fruits and vegetables. The healthy fats in a couple of servings of fish per week are also likely to help us hear better.

What about hearing aides? We don’t have research to support their use to decrease risk of dementia yet.

But we do know that effective aides can improve social interactions and make interpersonal relationships less stressful. If you are over 50 and haven’t had your hearing tested, it is probably a good idea (at your primary doctor’s office; ear, nose and throat specialist, or independent audiologist). If you prefer, another low cost screening called the National Hearing Test requires only a land line telephone and a quiet room in your home.

SOURCE: The Post and Courier, Lauren Sausser

Children at Iceni Academy light up the lives of care home residents at Stanway Green Lodge

The pupils from Iceni Academy in Colchester, who regularly visit residents at Stanway Green Lodge, took part in an arts and crafts session in time for Diwali - the festival of light.

They joined the elderly residents in making candle holders out of old CDs and decorating them.

Pupils visit the care home twice a month to build relationships with the residents.

Aniket Kanitkar, manager at the care home, said: “As the children have had contact with the elderly they just bound into the room.

“They have been coming here for about a year now, it works really well.

“They come in once a month with the vicar at All Saints Church too.”

Lou Cotter, community cohesion lead at the school, said it was a fantastic opportunity for the children to help in the community.

She said: “They have been taking along their maths and English books and discussing their learning with the ladies and gentlemen. The children benefit hugely.”

SOURCE: Essex County Standard, Katherine Palmer

Caregiver trust linked to good outcomes

Healthcare professionals may improve palliative care for residents with advanced dementia by improving communication with residents' caregivers, a recent study found. 

Researchers also discovered a correlation between the trust caregivers had in the healthcare team and positive care outcomes for the residents with dementia.  

More than 200 family caregivers of those with dementia across 25 nursing homes participated in the study. It looked at the associations between trust and areas such as family caregiver satisfaction, involvement in care, care burden and patients' symptom burden.

Higher trust was significantly associated with better outcomes. The positive care outcomes included higher family satisfaction and positive evaluations of physician-family communication. 

The majority of participants trusted physicians, nurses and nurses' aides at a moderate-to-high level. One-third of participants trusted the healthcare professional at a moderate-to-low level.

Source: McKnights.com, Alyssa Salela

One social hour a week in dementia care improves lives and saves money

Person-centred activities combined with just one hour a week of social interaction can improve quality of life and reduce agitation for people with dementia living in care homes, while saving money.

These are the findings from a large-scale trial led by the University of Exeter, King's College London and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. These results were presented today (July 16) at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2017 (AAIC). The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The trial involved more than 800 people with dementia across 69 care homes in South London, North London and Buckinghamshire. Two 'care staff champions' at each home were trained over four day-long sessions, to take simple measures that such as involve talking to residents about their interests and decisions around their own care. When combined with just one hour a week of social interaction, it improved quality of life and reduced agitation.

Importantly, the approach also saved money compared to standard care. Researchers say the next key challenge is to roll the programme to the 28,000 care homes in the UK to benefit the lives of the 300,000 people with dementia living in these facilities.

Professor Clive Ballard, of the University of Exeter Medical School, who led the research, said: "People with dementia who are living in care homes are among the most vulnerable in our society. Incredibly, of 170 carer training manuals available on the market, only four are based on evidence that they really work. Our outcomes show that good staff training and just one hour a week of social interaction significantly improves quality of life for a group of people who can often be forgotten by society."

Dr Jane Fossey from the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Taking a person-centred approach is about really getting to know the resident as an individual—knowing their interests and talking with them while you provide all aspects of care. It can make a massive difference to the person themselves and their carers. We've shown that this approach significantly improves lives, reduces agitation and actually saves money too. This training must now be rolled out nationwide so other people can benefit."

Doug Brown, Director of Research for Alzheimer's Society, said:

"70% of people living in care homes have dementia, so it is vital that staff have the right training to provide good quality dementia care.

"We know that a person-centred approach that takes each individual's unique qualities, abilities, interests, preferences and needs into account can improve care. This study shows that training to provide this type of individualised care, along with activities and social interactions, has a significant impact on the well-being of people living with dementia in care homes. It also shows that effective care can reduce costs, which the stretched social care system desperately needs.

"Alzheimer's Society is committed to improving dementia care through research. We want to see interventions like this put into practice, and will continue to fund further research to improve the quality of life for people with dementia in their own homes, care homes and hospitals. But investment in research alone cannot rescue the broken system. The government must use the consultation on social care reform to deliver a long-term solution that addresses the desperate funding crisis in our current system and shares the cost of care across society."

The results are the findings of the Improving Wellbeing and Health for People with Dementia (WHELD) trial, the largest non-pharmacological randomised control trial in people with dementia living in care homes to date.

SOURCE: Medical Xpress, University of Exeter

Social interaction and communication... seems that this approach should be everyday and common place rather than a task. When did we stop talking to each other? Asking how our day is going or even just a friendly hello isnt a lot to ask and is often the starting point for something much more meaningful.