Continuing Compassion in Care (CCiC)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring how informal carers of people living with dementia experience and maintain continuing compassion in care
IRAS ID
253260
Contact name
Nuriye Kupeli
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2019/04/22, Data Protection registration number
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Supporting people living with dementia to stay at home is important. Family or unpaid carers, referred to as the ‘silent army’ by the Alzheimer’s Society, provide care often over many months or years with little to no formal support. Family carers’ experiences of compassion for themselves and others can influence the caregiving experience and quality of care provided. Self-compassion is being able to recognise and be motivated to reduce one’s own suffering or distress. Compassion for others involves recognising and being motivated to reduce the experience of suffering in others.
Family carers report that carer stresses can result in conflict and potentially harmful or neglectful behaviours of both the person they are caring for and of themselves’. People who report high levels of self-compassion also report better psychological health. Similarly, compassion for others may protect family carers from the effects of stress. However, to date, little research has been conducted into family carers’ experience of compassion in the context of the caring role which we will refer to as continuing compassion in care (CCiC) from hereon.
The primary aim of this study is to explore family carers experiences of CCiC whilst caring for someone living with dementia and to develop and evaluate a tool that assesses experiences of CCiC. The secondary aim will be use the tool to explore the relationship between family carer experiences of CCiC and psychological wellbeing and potentially harmful behaviours. Finally, this study will design an intervention with family carers and health care professionals for family carers on ways we can support and maintain CCiC whilst caring
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0744
Date of REC Opinion
31 May 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion