Care and support needs of residents with dementia and comorbid cancer

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Understanding the care and support needs of nursing home residents with dementia and comorbid cancer

  • IRAS ID

    241988

  • Contact name

    Claire Surr

  • Contact email

    c.a.surr@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Leeds Beckett University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    4 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    BACKGROUND: Cancer patients with comorbid dementia are diagnosed at a later stage, receive less treatment, and have poorer survival. Very few studies, and none in the UK, have considered the care and support needs of people with dementia and comorbid cancer (CC) in nursing homes.

    AIM: To understand (unique and high-priority) care and support needs of residents with dementia and comorbid cancer (CC) living in nursing homes.

    METHODS: The research will entail; (1) interviews with 5-10 nursing home residents with dementia and CC, 10 family carers and 10 nursing home staff; and (2) observations of 5-10 residents and generic observations of the activity in the nursing home, for example: mealtimes and staff handovers.The interview questions will focus on the experiences of nursing home residents with dementia and cancer, including what works well, what could be improved and the differences these improvements might make to identify potential areas for future interventions.

    Individual resident observations aim to include the experiences of residents with moderate to severe dementia who will not be able to take part in the interviews. The generic nursing home observations will focus on areas of good practice and areas of difficulty identified in the interviews. This will help to identify key areas and points of care delivery that may be amenable to change in a future intervention.

    OUTPUT: Interviews and observation data will be used to identify the priority care and support needs of residents with dementia and CC. Summaries will be provided to nursing homes which participated in the research and relevant charities to give a better understanding of person-centred care and support in a nursing home when someone has dementia and CC. The research will also be used to identify priority areas for future intervention.

  • REC name

    Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    18/YH/0273

  • Date of REC Opinion

    5 Sep 2018

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion