PurposeThis paper aims to understand the lived experience of a person living with dementia in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It responds to the absence in research of the voices of people ...with dementia living in care homes during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a single case study design applied thematic analysis to semi-structured interview data to discover the experiences of one person living with dementia in a care home during a period of lockdown.FindingsFive themes reveal how the participant responded to the practical and emotional challenges of the pandemic: autonomy; fears; keeping connected; keeping safe and other people living with dementia. These themes highlight the participant’s ability to adapt, accept and dispute lockdown restrictions, revealing considerable insight into their situation.Research limitations/implicationsThe pandemic has restricted access to care homes, which informed the single case study design. This approach to the research may restrict the generalisability of the findings. Other researchers are encouraged to include the voices of people with dementia living in care homes in further studies.Practical implicationsImplications for practice, presented in this paper, promote quality psychosocial approaches when health-care workers engage with people living with dementia during periods of restricted activity.Originality/valueUnlike other studies about the impact of the pandemic on care homes, this paper explores the experience of the pandemic in care homes from the perspective of a person living with dementia.
Foraging animals are expected to adapt their movement patterns to their environment in a way that maximizes efficiency. The search strategies they rely on to achieve this is an enduring question in ...ecology. Scale-free Lévy and Brownian search strategies have received particular attention as both strategies are considered effective when prey are abundant and Lévy search is thought to optimize success when prey are patchy. Environmental context has been shown to explain Lévy and Brownian movement patterns for various marine predators, but potential effects of habitat structure and cognitive skills are often overlooked. We used bird-borne global positioning sensors (GPS) and temperature depth recorders (TDR) to assess flight paths and dive profiles of foraging parental common murres, Uria aalge. Movement patterns while flying and diving were best approximated by Brownian motion even though their primary prey, capelin, Mallotus villosus, are patchily distributed. Contrary to expectations, there was virtually no support for Lévy flights. Further analyses revealed that murre foraging activities are not random, but are rather more deterministic. Murres repeatedly returned to previously visited sites (within ∼2km), indicating a role of memory, and they focused foraging activities using small-scale area restricted search (ARS; <2km radius). Such behaviour appears to induce movement patterns that reflect the distribution of capelin. These findings highlight the efficacy of assessing deterministic search behaviour when interpreting the movement patterns of animals that may be informed about their environment.
•We used data loggers to assess flight paths and dive profiles of foraging common murres.•Movement patterns while flying and diving were best approximated by Brownian motion.•Murres repeatedly returned to previously visited sites, indicating a role of memory.•Small-scale foraging activities were focused using area restricted search.•Brownian movement patterns appear to be an emergent property of the prey landscape.
Despite their importance in marine food webs, much has yet to be learned about the spatial ecology of small seabirds. This includes the Leach's storm-petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa, a species that is ...declining throughout its Northwest Atlantic breeding range. In 2013 and 2014, we used global location sensors to track foraging movements of incubating storm-petrels from 7 eastern Canadian breeding colonies. We determined and compared the foraging trip and at-sea habitat characteristics, analysed spatial overlap among colonies, and determined whether colony foraging ranges intersected with offshore oil and gas operations. Individuals tracked during the incubation period made 4.0 ± 1.4 day foraging trips, travelling to highly pelagic waters over and beyond continental slopes which ranged, on average, 400 to 830 km from colonies. Cumulative travel distances ranged from ~900 to 2,100 km among colonies. While colony size did not influence foraging trip characteristics or the size of areas used at sea, foraging distances tended to be shorter for individuals breeding at the southern end of the range. Core areas did not overlap considerably among colonies, and individuals from all sites except Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy foraged over waters with median depths > 1,950 m and average chlorophyll a concentrations ≤ 0.6 mg/m3. Sea surface temperatures within colony core areas varied considerably (11-23°C), coincident with the birds' use of cold waters of the Labrador Current or warmer waters of the Gulf Stream Current. Offshore oil and gas operations intersected with the foraging ranges of 5 of 7 colonies. Three of these, including Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland, which supports the species' largest population, have experienced substantial declines in the last few decades. Future work should prioritize modelling efforts to incorporate information on relative predation risk at colonies, spatially explicit risks at-sea on the breeding and wintering grounds, effects of climate and marine ecosystem change, as well as lethal and sub-lethal effects of environmental contaminants, to better understand drivers of Leach's storm-petrel populations trends in Atlantic Canada.
•Novel case report highlighting association of COVID-19 precipitating symptoms of CADASIL•Multiple internal border zone infarcts in a patient with COVID-19 and CADASIL•Proposed mechanism is ...endothelial injury with microvascular thrombosis and cerebral dysautoregulation•We advise to consider patients with CADASIL a vulnerable group during the pandemic
In 1992, the eastern Canadian gillnet fisheries for northern cod and Atlantic salmon were largely closed. These large-scale fishery closures resulted in the removal of tens of thousands of gillnets ...known to inflict high levels of seabird mortality. We used this unprecedented opportunity to test the effects of gillnet removal on seabird populations. Consistent with predictions, we show that the breeding populations of divers (auks, gannets; susceptible to gillnet bycatch) have increased from pre-closure levels, whereas the populations of scavenging surface-feeders (gulls; low vulnerability to gillnet bycatch but susceptible to removal of fisheries discards) have decreased. Using the most complete series of seabird census data for the species most vulnerable to bycatch, we demonstrate a positive population response of common murres to reduction in gillnet fishing within its foraging range. These findings support the widespread but seldom documented contention that fisheries bycatch negatively impacts populations of non-target large vertebrates.
Tracking technology has revolutionized knowledge of seabird movements; yet, few studies have examined sex differences in distribution and behavior of small to medium-sized, sexually-monomorphic ...seabirds. Application of bird-borne geolocation-immersion loggers revealed seasonal segregation in the sexually-monomorphic Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus, mainly in the pre-laying period, when there were clear differences in reproductive roles. Shearwaters first returned to the Falkland Islands on 27 Sept±8 d; males, on average, 8 d earlier than females. Prior to egg-laying, distribution at sea, colony attendance and behaviour depended on sex. Males foraged locally over the southern Patagonian Shelf and Burdwood Bank, spending mainly single days at sea and intervening nights in the burrow. Females, who flew for more of the day during this time, foraged in more distant areas of the northern Patagonian Shelf and Argentine Basin that were deeper, warmer and relatively more productive. Attendance of females at the colony was also more variable than that of males and, overall, males were present for significantly more of the pre-laying period (38 vs. 19% of time). Sex differences were reduced following egg-laying, with males and females using similar foraging areas and making trips of similar mean duration in incubation (7.6±2.7 d) and chick-rearing (1.4±1.3 d). Congruence continued into the non-breeding period, with both sexes showing similar patterns of activity and areas of occupancy in the NW Atlantic. Thus, seasonal changes in reproductive roles influenced patterns of sexual segregation; this occurred only early in the season, when male Sooty Shearwaters foraged locally, returning regularly to the colony to defend (or maintain) the burrow or the mate, while females concentrated on building resources for egg development in distant and relatively more productive waters.
This paper describes the process used by a group of people living with young-onset dementia to inform the development and delivery of a post-diagnosis peer guide. It draws on the four stages of ...human-centered design and applies them in a new context of supporting resilience for people following a diagnosis of dementia. (1) Discover: The group discussed in-depth their perspectives on what it takes to be resilient while living with dementia and how this can be maintained. (2) Define: The group decided to collate practical information and knowledge based on their personal experiences into a booklet to support the resilience of others following a diagnosis of dementia. (3) Develop: The booklet was designed and developed together with input from other people living with dementia, facilitated by the authors. (4) Deliver: The group guided the professional production of the booklet ‘Knowledge is Power’. Over 8000 copies have been distributed to memory clinics, post-diagnostic support organizations and people living with dementia across Wales. A bilingual English–Scottish Gaelic adaptation and an adaptation for people in England have since been developed. The success of ‘Knowledge is Power’ highlights the importance of working alongside people with dementia to share knowledge and support their resilience.
The global population of Leach’s Storm-Petrels (
Hydrobates leucorhous
), the smallest and most abundant breeding seabird species in eastern Canada, has declined substantially in recent decades. The ...species is listed as “Threatened” by the Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fatal attraction to anthropogenic light is a major risk for Leach’s Storm-Petrels and many other nocturnal seabirds. From May to September each year, Leach’s Storm-Petrels in eastern Canada breed in island colonies and travel many hundreds of kilometers to obtain prey for themselves and their chick. At the species’ largest colonies in eastern Newfoundland, brightly illuminated oil production platforms intersect breeding storm-petrels’ foraging paths. The level of risk posed by these platforms is poorly understood. GPS tracking from 2016 to 2021 at one of the world’s largest colonies revealed considerable similarity in foraging trip distance, location, and behavior (inferred from Hidden Markov Models) among years, and a decrease in trip distance and duration between incubation and chick-rearing. Leach’s Storm-Petrels flew within the light catch-basin of an oil platform in 17.5% of trips, and the birds tended to transit rapidly past platforms during the day when light attraction is minimal. Exposure to oil platforms at night occurred in only 1.1% of trips. Despite our findings, Leach’s Storm-Petrels are known to strand on oil platforms in large numbers, especially during the fledging period. In addition, storm-petrels migrate over great distances and are likely exposed to brightly illuminated oceanic oil platforms outside the breeding season. Our results emphasize the need to focus conservation research on risks during migration and winter, and on juveniles and immature birds.
Background
Despite the care and support needs of migrants affected by dementia differing from the population of the country where they live now, most European countries do not provide specific ...strategies to address migration in their national dementia plans. The concept of intersectionality provides an innovative approach to dementia care perspectives and methodologies.
Objective
The aim is to define intersectionality and to provide examples of applying the concept to dementia care research, focusing on people with a migration background.
Methods
This article was conceptualized and discussed during virtual INTERDEM taskforce meetings in 2020/2021, while discussing identified literature on intersectionality, migration, and dementia care research.
Results
Using an intersectionality framework allows understanding of a person’s lived experience by considering the dimensionality, co-occurrence and interlocking of factors (e.g., sex/gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, migration status, geographic location/place).
Conclusion
Intersectionality can be applied as a conceptual and methodological approach to identify and address gaps in perspectives and in (dementia care) research to overcome the threat of ignorance, exclusion and discrimination.
Background
Cognitive–communication difficulties are often associated with dementia and can impact a person's ability to participate in meaningful conversations. This can create challenges to ...families, reflecting the reality that people living with dementia rarely have just one regular conversation partner, but interact with multiple family members. To date, there is limited evidence of the impact of changes in communication patterns in families. A family systems approach, with foundations in psychology, can be used to explore the impact of communication difficulties on multiple different family members, including the person living with dementia and potential coping strategies used by individuals, together with the family as a whole.
Methods & Procedures
A systematic review of primary qualitative research was conducted to identify and examine research exploring communication and interaction within families living with dementia. Studies were identified through a comprehensive search of major databases and the full‐text articles were subject to a quality appraisal. We conducted a thematic analysis on the literature identified to consider the role of families in supporting communication for people with dementia.
Outcomes & Results
The searches identified 814 possible articles for screening against the eligibility criteria. Nine articles were included in the final review. Three major themes emerged from the analysis of the included studies: (1) ‘identities changing’ reflected how interactions within the family systems impacted on identities; (2) ‘loss’ reflected the grief experienced by families due to changes in communication; and (3) ‘developing communication strategies’ highlighted strategies and approaches that families affected by dementia may use organically to engage in meaningful interactions and maintain connection. Only one study explicitly used a family systems approach to understand how families manage the changes in interaction resulting from dementia.
Conclusions & Implications
The findings may usefully inform the clinical practice of speech and language therapists in terms of communication strategies and coping mechanisms that may be advised to facilitate connection in families living with dementia. Further research using a family systems approach to exploring communication in dementia may help to support the implementation of family‐centred practice as recommended in policy.
What this paper adds
What is already known on the subject
There is increasing recognition of the impact of dementia on whole families and the need for family‐centred interventions to enhance quality of life. However, much of the research to date that explores communication within families affected by dementia examines interaction between dyads, largely overlooking the roles and skills of other familial communication partners. To the authors’ knowledge, there has been no previous review of the literature using a family systems approach, which has the potential to inform clinical practice of those working in dementia care.
What this paper adds to existing knowledge
The review examines and understands what is known about the approaches used by families affected by communication changes resulting from dementia to preserve connection. It collates the evidence from qualitative studies examining approaches and strategies used by individual conversation partners, including people with dementia, as well as the family system as a whole, to facilitate meaningful interactions, and proposes recommendations for clinicians working in this field. Furthermore, we consider the potential benefits of using a family systems approach to understand the context of people living with dementia and how this could enhance communication, personhood and well‐being.
What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?
This review highlights practical conversation strategies and interactional approaches that may serve to enhance communication and preserve relationships between people with dementia and their family members. Such techniques have the potential to be advised by Speech and Language Therapists working in dementia care as part of tailored, relationship‐centred care and support that they provide.
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