12 QMYOU / Health & Rehabilitation
Raising the profile of dementia amongst allied health students
A team of QMU health academics and dementia experts from Alzheimer Scotland ran a dementia study day for over 200 occupational therapy students at the University in October .
THE TRAINING EVENT , which was the first of its kind in Scotland , aimed to improve understanding of the illness amongst future allied health professionals and improve support to people with dementia . It will also help allied health students connect their professional practice with Scottish Government policy .
Dementia is a word used to describe a group of symptoms including memory loss , confusion , mood changes and difficulty with day-to-day tasks . There are many types of dementia , with Alzheimer ’ s being the most common . Currently 800,000 people in the UK have dementia and that figure is set to rise to over a million by 2021 . Last year , the financial cost of dementia to the UK was more than £ 23 billion . That cost is set to spiral as the number of people living with the disease , and others affected by their illness , continues to grow .
Fiona Maclean , Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at QMU , said : “ In Scotland alone about 86,000 people have dementia and that number doesn ’ t include the wider circle of people who are affected by a family member or friend with the condition . It is a growing problem and one that presents massive challenges for our health and social care services , as well as our economy .”
Fiona continued : “ All occupational therapists in employment will be faced , at some point , with the challenges of working with people with dementia , as well as their families and carers . This study day helped support students in their awareness of dementia in order to enhance their practice skills when working with all people impacted by this condition .
“ In order to work effectively as an occupational therapist , professionals need to understand and respect the importance of the individual ’ s personal circumstances . Our study day emphasised to students the importance of living well with dementia . By increasing their knowledge and awareness , we equipped our graduates to work much more effectively in the changing landscape of health and social care in Scotland .”
The training event was devised by Elaine Hunter , the National Allied Health Professionals Consultant within Alzheimer Scotland and Fiona Maclean , Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at QMU .
Elaine Hunter , National Allied Health Professionals ( AHP ) Consultant , said , “ This has been an inspirational piece of partnership working between Alzheimer Scotland and QMU to improve dementia knowledge among occupational therapy students . Scotland ’ s current National Dementia Strategy outlines a key role for AHPs to support active nonpharmacological interventions for people with dementia , carers and families .”
An important part of the event was the Alzheimer Scotland Memory Bus that was located in QMU ’ s University Square . The Memory Bus is a unique mobile information vehicle that travels across the country to raise awareness and support for those interested in , or affected by , dementia . The bus not only proved very popular with health students on the day , it also attracted many other students and staff whose lives had also been touched by dementia .
Henry Simmons , Chief Executive of Alzheimer Scotland , opened the event . He explained : “ Dementia is one of the biggest health issues to affect our society and there are few families in Scotland who are not affected by this illness . We must develop better ways of treating , supporting and caring for people with dementia to enable them to live better in their own homes and communities . This collaboration offered a positive and innovative way of educating future health professionals about dementia , so they can make a truly meaningful contribution to patient care both in the NHS and the independent healthcare sector .”
Professor Alan Gilloran , QMU ’ s Deputy Principal , said : “ Not only did this event confirm the relevance of QMU ’ s work to the issues that affect society , it was a perfect example of how QMU connects education , research and policy . Ultimately , we hope this event has helped to significantly improve our students ’ understanding of dementia so that they can contribute to a better all-round service provision and improve the quality of life for those affected by the condition .” ❒
Occupational therapist ’ s research leads to dementia study day
Research from a final year health student , during an internship funded by Santander , uncovered the need for Occupational Therapy students to gain a better understanding of dementia before going into the workplace .
CLARE KENNEDY ’ S RESEARCH showed that many Occupational Therapy students had gained an understanding of dementia but that some elements were mainly acquired while on work placement or from personal experience .
Clare ’ s research showed that QMU needed to support students to develop their knowledge base of dementia by enhancing educational opportunities as part of their degree programme .
Following graduation , Clare undertook this Santander internship with QMU and Alzheimer Scotland . The project , which involved her working with Occupational Therapy academics and experts from the charity , looked at the knowledge base of final year students in relation to the Scottish Government ’ s Promoting Excellence Framework .
Clare ’ s work informed the development and delivery of the dementia study day at QMU in October . Read more about the study day in the article above . ❒
12 QMYOU / Health & Rehabilitation