Dementia
Conditions
Keywords
dementia, self-compassion, quality of life
Brief summary
This study aims to investigate whether self-compassion is associated with older adult's quality of life after a diagnosis of dementia, and whether perceived threat posed by dementia mediates this relationship. Self-compassion has been found to be positive in supporting individuals in times of difficulty, in adjustment processes and older adults' wellbeing. While different factors have begun to be identified which are associated with individuals' psychological wellbeing and adjustment following a dementia diagnosis, little is known about the influence of self-compassion. Participants will be recruited via NHS memory clinics, Join Dementia Research and from the community via third-sector organisations. Individuals will be invited to attend a Microsoft Teams/telephone appointment in which informed consent and cognitive screening processes will take place at the start. Eligible participants will then be invited to continue to complete measures administered by a researcher and an interview question. Participants will be offered the opportunity to complete the measures in a second session (within 8 weeks) or using the online survey software, Qualtrics, if preferred. A small pilot study (n = 5) will take place prior to the main study.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Study design
Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* An older adult aged ≥ 65 years * A confirmed diagnosis of dementia received within the past 12 months * They have knowledge of their diagnosis * They have English language proficiency * They have capacity to give informed consent to participation.
Exclusion criteria
* They are deemed to lack capacity to give informed consent to participate (as per the Mental Capacity Act, 2005). * They have a diagnosis of early-onset dementia, defined as individuals who are aged \< 65 at diagnosis * A score on the MoCA Blind (Nasreddine, 2022b) screening measure of \<7 out of 22, which is calculated as equivalent to \<10 out of 30 on the MoCA (Nasreddine et al., 2005).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease | Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes | The Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease consists of 13 items relating to different aspects of quality of life, such as mood, physical health, friends and ability to do things for fun. Each item is scored from 1 ('poor') to 4 ('excellent') to calculate a total score. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Stress Appraisal Measure | Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes | The Stress Appraisal Measure consists of 28 items pertaining to perceived future threat, measured across seven subscales; three referring to primary appraisals of threat, centrality and challenge, three relating to secondary appraisal - controllable by self, controllable by others and uncontrollable), and stressfulness. Only the threat and 'stressfulness' subscales, consisting of four items respectively, will be completed. |
| Geriatric Depression Scale - 10 | Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes | The Geriatric Depression Scale - 10, consisting of 10 items relating to how the person has felt over the past week (e.g. 'do you feel happy most of the time?'), has good reliability (α = 0.75), sensitivity and specificity. The Geriatric Depression Scale -10 is considered a reliable screening measure for major depression in older adults. |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed