Being a trained volunteer Peer Supporter for carers of people living with dementia in Norway: Reciprocal benefits and challenges

Peer Support Workers as an Innovative Force in Advocacy in Dementia Care: A Transnational Project Delivered in Norway, Greece, Italy, and Romania

Aim

Peer Support Workers (PSW) as an Innovative Force in Advocacy in Dementia Care (PIA) project aimed to create sustainable and competency-enhancing services for people with dementia by finding new ways to involve former as well as current caregivers in dementia services and, therefore, provide their valuable perspective in dementia care and daily practice.

Participants and Methods

In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, the first step consisted in mapping the situation existing in the partners' countries, respectively, Norway, Greece, Italy, and Romania. Subsequently, specific and well-structured training material was created with the purpose of recruiting and engaging PSW, in order to contribute to dementia services. The training material was then transferred to a digital platform addressed to PSW, people living with dementia (PwD), caregivers, and health professionals.

Results

The PIA project proposed the introduction of PSW in dementia care, establishing a close collaboration across the contributing countries, and trained a total of fifty potential PSW. Each country identified a specific role and function of PSW in dementia practice, according to their national particulars. The training seminars and videos proposed by the PIA project are presented in the current study and therefore helped to the distribution of significant information about the contribution of (potential) PSW in dementia care. All the results were uploaded on the platform designed to increase communication and collaboration across health professionals as well as caregivers.

Conclusion

The PIA project developed and designed training materials and methodologies for establishing PSW in dementia care in Norway, Greece, Italy, and Romania. PIA aims at introducing PSW in the healthcare system of the aforementioned countries, whereas future studies will elaborate on novel ways to measure the efficacy of being a PSW, as well as the benefits to stakeholders.

Always on alert: How relatives of family members with dementia experience the transition from home to permanent nursing home placement

AIM

Our aim was to gain insight into how the relatives of family members with dementia have experienced their family members' transition from home to permanent nursing home placement.

DESIGN

Our research was a qualitative case study.

METHODS

Inspired by Kvale and Brinkmann's phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, we performed the thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews describing how the relatives of family members with dementia have experienced the dementia trajectory.

RESULTS

Twelve relatives of family members with dementia living in nursing homes agreed to participate. The descriptions of relatives' experiences indicated four primary themes: mismatches between healthcare services and the family members' needs, witnessing the family members' cognitive decline, the effects of the experiences on the relatives' health and well-being and what matters to the relatives during their family members' transition to nursing home. Mismatches between available resources in the municipalities and the family members' healthcare needs were the most distressing experiences, along with the family members' gradual cognitive decline. In response, the relatives stressed individualized support, continuity in follow-up care and regular information-sharing between them and staff members caring for their family members. They also highlighted the importance of facilitating seamless transitions from home to nursing homes.

Unity strengthens and inhibits development: A focus group interview with volunteer adults in support programs for bereaved children and their family

This article illuminates (inter)actions and group dynamics of adult volunteers in programs for bereaved children and parents. A focus group interview with seven volunteers in Swedish was conducted. A latent, thematic analysis was conducted, inspired by Braun and Clarke, and Goffman. Two themes were constructed: Personal despair as a motivation for establishing and consolidating voluntary involvement and The volunteers acted as an extended family. Group dynamics within the group contributed to uphold volunteers' adherence to formal and informal guidance related to the program. Strong engagement among volunteers and internal recruitment strategies contributed to uphold and consolidate the program's implementation.

The role of volunteering in supporting well-being - What might this mean for social prescribing? A best-fit framework synthesis of qualitative research

Volunteering for an organisation, charity or group enables people to make connections with others and to be involved in interesting, worthwhile and/or enjoyable pursuits. Engaging in volunteering can form part of a social prescribing action plan developed between a patient and link worker. Greater understanding of the processes through which volunteering can improve people's well-being as part of social prescribing will help to support link workers in their role. We conducted a best-fit framework synthesis of qualitative literature on volunteering and well-being. Our search of eight electronic databases, complemented by a Google search, conducted in June 2020, resulted in the location of 2210 potentially relevant references. After screening, 335 papers were read in full and 54 drawn upon within the review. They were published between 1993 and 2020. We used the New Economics Foundation's Five Ways to Well-Being model to guide data extraction and synthesis. From this, we developed a conceptual framework that highlights how volunteering can contribute to identity validation and modification leading to the establishment of an acceptable sense of self. Our findings have implications for: (a) the use of volunteering as part of a link worker's toolkit as they seek to support people with varying psychosocial needs and (b) requirements of organisations accepting referrals to volunteering as part of social prescribing.

The Expert Caregiver Intervention Targeting Former Caregivers in Finland: A Co-Design and Feasibility Study Using Mixed Methods

Informal caregivers face risks of social isolation. Given the high prevalence of informal caregivers in Europe, a considerable proportion of the population are also former caregivers. The Finnish Expert Caregiver intervention sought to train former caregivers to become volunteers aiming to support current caregivers through mainly peer support. The aims of this mixed method non-controlled exploratory intervention study were to assess the feasibility of the Finnish Expert Caregiver intervention by co-designing and implementing the intervention, and by assessing demand and practicality with special attention to the impact of COVID-19. The findings imply that the intervention was feasible as it resulted in a co-designed training course consisting of 30 h with 25 participants enrolling and 19 of them trying volunteering activities. The participants reported high scores on well-being at all timepoints of study, however, without statistically significant differences. The analysis of the focus group interviews revealed that the Expert Caregivers experienced the intervention as meaningful and offered them a sense of belonging with the other participants. Apart from using their caregiving past as an asset, the participants also took advantage of other personal skills and resources. Risks of adverse effects were related to the participants’ expectations on their own contribution, demanding peer support recipients, poorly functioning peer support groups, and insufficient distance to one’s caregiving past. The participants stressed the need for continuing support from intervention facilitators. Future studies with larger samples should investigate whether the effects differ between subgroups of participants and explore the perspective of the peer support recipients.

The Porchlight Project: A Pilot Study to Adapt the Senior Companion Program to Enhance Memory Care Services and Supports

Older adult volunteer programs present an important opportunity to provide low cost, community-based support to families living with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD). In this mixed methods pilot study, volunteers (n = 15) from the Minnesota Senior Companion Program received training in AD/ADRD and palliative care, with the objective of providing more "dementia capable" support to people living with memory loss and their family caregivers. Volunteers applied their skills by engaging clients in a series of guided conversations over 3 months of dementia capable visits. Despite enrollment challenges, volunteers, clients, and caregivers reported that the intervention was appropriate and useful to improve understanding of memory loss and enhance volunteer-client communication. Results of the pilot study were used to refine the Porchlight Project for a future statewide evaluation.