Effects of repeated checking in older adults and dementia - version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the effects of repeated checking on memory in older adults and those with a diagnosis of Dementia.
IRAS ID
229987
Contact name
Deborah A E Green
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 27 days
Research summary
Dementia is a disease of which symptoms mainly include memory loss but also affects the way people think and their use of language. These symptoms are often mild at first and slowly worsen over time. 850,000 people are thought to live in the UK with Dementia and it is mostly seen in those aged 60 years and over. Many people who have memory problems often use strategies to try and manage these difficulties, such as repeatedly checking that they have done certain tasks. However, research with healthy adults has shown that repeated checking can actually be unhelpful, showing that the more we check the less confidence we have in our memory. The current study aims to see whether repeated checking causes lower confidence in memory for older adults and those with diagnosis of dementia, as this has not yet been looked at.
Volunteers from Older adult and memory service NHS teams as well as local older adult groups will be asked to take part. They will be visited on one occasion, to complete a set of questionnaires and a checking task. The whole session should last between one and two hours. If repeated checking is found to cause more distrust in memory, then using this strategy could be causing more memory problems and make coping with dementia more difficult. From this research, we hope to gain more knowledge of what strategies are helpful for those with memory concerns.REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0152
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion