British Sign Language Users and Dementia (Scotland)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Navigating effective care home service provision in Scotland for Deaf people with dementia and their families
IRAS ID
294815
Contact name
Avril Hepner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
British Deaf Association
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Research Summary
British Sign Language (BSL) Users and Dementia (Scotland) is a qualitative study exploring dementia care for Deaf BSL users in Scotland with a specific focus on residential care services. It involves the perspectives of formal (care home staff) and informal (family) as well as wider Deaf community perspectives. BSL users with dementia will not be interviewed. The primary research questions for this study are: (1) What are the current experiences of residential social care services for older Deaf BSL users living with dementia in Scotland? (2) What are the expectations of older Deaf people who use BSL (and their families) when they are transitioning into dementia-specific residential care? (3) What is required for care homes in Scotland to be in a position to provide effective care for older Deaf people (with dementia) who use BSL as their first language and how might that be achieved? Data collected from care home managers and key workers in care homes both with and without direct experience of providing care to a Deaf resident with dementia who is a BSL user. Additionally, focus groups will be held with members of the wider Deaf community and Deaf carers discussing residential care provision for older Deaf people in Scotland. All data will be collected remotely to comply with pandemic restrictions in place. Thematic analysis will underpin the main analysis of data collection. Life Changes Trust is the funding body for this research.
Summary of Results
This report is about care homes in Scotland and Deaf people with dementia. It is funded by the Life Changes Trust. The project was led by BDA Scotland in partnership with SORD (Social Research with Deaf people), University of Manchester. The research was trying to find out how to improve care homes for Deaf people with dementia from the point of view of Deaf people and from the point of view of care home providers.
Deaf perspectives and Care Home perspectives are quite different. Sometimes Deaf people and care home staff identified the same problem but thought about it in different ways. Sometimes the priorities of Deaf people were very different from those of care homes. We have compared and contrasted these different points of view throughout as they show cultural differences but also opportunities to learn from each other.
The main themes were: Language and Communication; Cultural needs; Transition into care homes, requirements for effective care provision.
The overall conclusion of the report reports that everyone involved in this research acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to do to meet goal 41 of the Scottish Government’s BSL National Plan
2017 – 2023 that says: 'Work with local authorities, providers and service users to improve the way that adult social care is delivered, including how residential care is commissioned and how care and support are delivered to people at home. The voices and experiences of service users, including BSL users will be at the centre of these.'REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0066
Date of REC Opinion
12 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion