Talking Mats as Decision Aid for Older People Living With Mild to Moderate Dementia

Plain-language summary

Sweden has an aging population and people with dementia often have their needs met in their own homes. The Social Services Act states that eldercare should aim at strengthening older people's ability to live an independent life, in dignity and with well-being. Although few would question the importance of influence and individualized support, research has shown that older people with extensive and complex needs, such as dementia, may be at risk of being excluded from the same opportunities as more privileged groups of eldercare recipients. Care managers and home care staff have to handle both the choice of services and providers as well as the more detailed design of the home care services without developed working methods that support the possibility of informed choices for people with dementia or other cognitive difficulties. The need for some form of decision aid in these situations has therefore been raised. So-called TalkingMats have in previous studies in the United Kingdom (UK) been shown to promote influence in decision-making for people with dementia. Within the framework of this study, our aim is therefore to evaluate the effect of TalkingMats as decision aid in needs assessment and planning home care services for people with mild to moderate dementia. The study is designed as a two-armed RCT study, where the effectiveness and implementation of TalkingMats are evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively, in collaboration between eldercare in four municipalities in the Sjuhärad region, the Department of Social Work at Göteborg University, the University college of Borås and R \& D Sjuhärad Welfare.

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