Human rights and applied psychology

Understanding quality of life and well-being for people living with advanced dementia

AIM

To investigate the quality of life (QoL) and well-being of people living with advanced dementia in care homes.

METHOD

A mixed-methods approach was taken combining participant observations, interviews with the participants' families and carers, and quantitative measurements. The quantitative measures included AwareCare assessments, QoL in Late-Stage Dementia scale ratings and semi-structured interviews with relatives and staff members. Ryff's psychological well-being framework, the Fairness, Respect, Equality, Identity, Dignity, Autonomy principles, and Kitwood's indicators of well-being, were examined to attempt to identify contributors to QoL for people living with advanced dementia.

RESULTS

Participants had limited verbal abilities, but used non-vocal behaviours to communicate. These behaviours influenced their QoL and well-being.

CONCLUSION

The indicators of well-being in Kitwood's personhood model were helpful in describing how relatives and staff perceived the QoL of the person with dementia.

Evaluating 'FREDA Challenge': a coproduced human rights board game in services for people with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

A serious board game called 'FREDA Challenge' was co-produced with people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) as a tool for human rights (HR) education and increase positive attitudes towards HR in healthcare settings. The current study evaluated 'FREDA Challenge' with PWID and their carers.

METHOD

Eighteen PWID and 13 carers participated in a repeated measures design whereby changes in attitudes and knowledge of HR were measured.

RESULTS

Analysis revealed statistically significant differences (P = 0.02) between PWID and carers in their knowledge of HR. The same was not evident for attitudes towards HR. The positive attitudes and knowledge in the PWID group significantly increased after playing the game (P ≤ 0.02), but not for the carers/professionals group.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that playing the board game can positively change the attitudes and knowledge of PWID towards HR. The board game seems to elicit positive interpersonal dynamics between PWID and carers/professionals.

The role of the psychologist in social change

On 1 September 1967, the Nobel Prize-winning civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech entitled 'The role of the behavioral scientist in the civil rights movement' to the American Psychological Association (APA, 1999; King, 1968). With eloquence and passion, Martin Luther King championed the civil rights struggle and spoke to the interests of his audience. He stressed how behavioural scientists could and should support the civil rights movement. King's eloquent and passionate speech is still relevant today - explaining how psychologists and other mental health professionals could help address today's pressing social issues.