Assessing the impact of pre-assessment counselling on fear of dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does the experience of undergoing Pre-Assessment Counselling (PAC) have a positive effect upon fear of dementia, depression, anxiety and stress?
IRAS ID
323154
Contact name
Stephen Badham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham Trent University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
BACKGROUND
With an ageing population, dementia cases in the UK are rising and there is high demand for research on dementia diagnosis and care. Much stigma surrounds dementia, and personal fears can prevent individuals from seeking a diagnosis and accessing the care that is available. An existing method of ensuring a person is ready for diagnosis is to offer pre-assessment counselling in-between a patient initially presenting with memory or cognitive concerns and a patient undergoing a formal dementia diagnosis. This counselling is aimed at informing patients about the dementia diagnosis process and addressing fears and concerns they may have about a dementia diagnosis. We have teamed up with a healthcare service who routinely offer this counselling to help measure its effectiveness.WHAT WE AIM TO DO AND HOW FINDINGS WILL BE USED
The current study aims to measure patients’ fears of dementia, depression, anxiety, and stress via self-report questionnaires both before and after the pre-assessment counselling session. This will establish if the counselling is effective at alleviating fears and fear-related mental health indicators. Proving the counselling is effective will aid in implementing it more widely across the NHS.REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/WM/0221
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jan 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion