Improving Well-being and Health for People with Dementia (WHELD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Whitaker, Rhiannon; Fossey, Jane; Ballard, Clive; Orrell, Martin; Moniz-Cook, Esme; Woods, Robert T; Murray, Joanna; Stafford, Jane; Knapp, Martin; Romeo, Rene?e; Carlton, Barbara; Testad, Ingelin; Khan, Zunera

Abstract

Background People with dementia living in care homes often have complex mental health problems, disabilities and social needs. Providing more comprehensive training for staff working in care home environments is a high national priority. It is important that this training is evidence based and delivers improvement for people with dementia residing in these environments. Well-being and Health for People with Dementia (WHELD) combines the most effective elements of existing approaches to develop a comprehensive but practical staff training intervention. This optimised intervention is based on a factorial study and qualitative evaluation, to combine: training on person-centred care, promoting person-centred activities and interactions, and providing care home staff and general practitioners with updated knowledge regarding the optimal use of psychotropic medications for persons with dementia in care homes. Design The trial will be a randomised controlled two-arm cluster single blind trial that will take place for nine months across 80 care homes in the United Kingdom. Discussion The overarching goal of this trial is to determine whether this optimised WHELD intervention is more effective in improving the quality of life and mental health than the usual care provided to people with dementia living in nursing homes. This study will be the largest and best powered randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the benefits of an augmented person-centred care training intervention in care homes worldwide.

Citation

Whitaker, R., Fossey, J., Ballard, C., Orrell, M., Moniz-Cook, E., Woods, R. T., …Khan, Z. (2014). Improving Well-being and Health for People with Dementia (WHELD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 15(1), Article ARTN 284. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-15-284

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 23, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 12, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014
• Deposit Date: Jul 19, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Trials
• Print ISSN: 1745-6215
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-6215
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: ARTN 284
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-15-284
• Keywords: Dementia care homes; Quality of life; Antipsychotic medication; Behavioural symptoms; Cost effectiveness; Implementation; Person-centred care; Social interaction
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/441286
• Publisher URL: http://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-6215-15-284
• Additional Information: Copy of article: Whitaker et al.: Improving Well-being and Health for People with Dementia (WHELD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 2014 15:284.