Evaluating 'Thinking Together' groups
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does attending a ‘Thinking Together’ group help people to feel less threatened by their dementia and lead to a better quality of life?
IRAS ID
229665
Contact name
Hayley Jane Silcox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University West of England
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study involves evaluating the post-diagnostic support groups for people who have been diagnosed with dementia and their chosen relative/friend, named 'Thinking Together', run by South Gloucestershire Memory Service. The groups invite the person with dementia and their relative/friend to attend a group for seven weeks.
Three questionnaires will be given to the people with dementia and their relative/friend attending the groups at three different time points: at the start of the course, at the end of the course and eight weeks after the course finishes. There will also be brief, semi-structured individual interviews for the couples after the groups finish. The interviews will focus on participants' experiences of the groups, and will identify those aspects they found most/least helpful.
The questionnaires used in this research will be the Threat of Dementia Scale, The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Dementia Quality of Life scale. All the scales have been attached to this application along with the proposed interview questions.
If research is conducted on these groups and they prove to be effective, this will strengthen the case for future funding from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) so that the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnerships (AWP) continue to be commissioned to provide these groups, as well as raising awareness that these groups are available and are an evaluated intervention. The research could also contribute to our understanding about the process of the groups e.g. what aspects of the groups are helpful, who benefits from attending. Having an evidence base behind an intervention can be useful in encouraging people who are offered the service to attend. It is important to continue to move towards person-centred dementia care so that instead of just tackling the cognitive/mood difficulties with medications, we are offering knowledge and support.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
17/WA/0200
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion