Focus group for unpaid carers of someone with Dementia
31/08/23
Oxford University is looking for carers of someone with Dementia to take part in a focus group for a study that explores unpaid carers’ experiences of feeling and staying safe when providing care at home.
Dementia is becoming more common as the population is ageing. Family members or friends are central to the success of looking after someone with Dementia at home. However, these unpaid carers often become invisible if the person with Dementia is well cared for.
Finding effective ways to support carers of someone with Dementia living at home has been identified as a research priority by the James Lind Alliance (www.jla.nihr.ac.uk). Safety is important in providing high-quality care. It has been studied mostly from the perspective of the person receiving care and professional carers, but not from an unpaid carers point of view.
What will happen at the focus group?
We will have a short 121 telephone call with you to give you the opportunity to ask questions. During this call we will provide any further information about the study and check your eligibility to take part.
The focus group will involve other unpaid carers of someone with dementia. With your consent, we will record it to keep an accurate record and assist in writing up our project.
During the focus group, we will ask about:
- Your views and experiences on safety concerns and harms whilst providing care for someone with dementia living at home.
- What you do to feel and stay safe
- What you do to prevent any harm from occurring
- What type of support you have had, or would like, from health and social care services to make you feel and stay safe.
Expenses and payments
You will be offered a £50 voucher for participation. Your travel expenses will be reimbursed, in line with the guidelines of the University of Oxford. If you have any difficulties with travel, the researchers will support you as much as possible.
Where and when will the focus group be conducted?
The focus group will be conducted at the University of Oxford or online, according to the preference of the majority of the participants. A researcher from the University of Oxford will contact you to discuss this and arrange a suitable day and time, most likely in September. It will last 2 hours.
Will the project be published?
The project findings may be published in academic journals and presented at conferences. Participants and quotations will remain anonymised in all reports, presentations and publications of findings, and any other information (e.g. geographical location, place of work) which could help identify you will also be removed.
A short report on the study will be shared with you at the end of the study.
Project funding and review
This project is funded by a Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford pump priming grant.
It has been reviewed by and received ethics clearance through, a subcommittee of the University of Oxford Central University Research Ethics Committee (Ethics reference: R86274/RE001).
Take Part
The project is being conducted by researchers in the Health Services Research Unit, within the Nuffield Department of Population Health, at the University of Oxford. The Principal Investigator is Associate Professor Michele Peters and the researcher is Dr Priya Sugavanam. To take part or discuss the project, please contact Priya Sugavanam on 01865 289402 or email priya.sugavanam@ndph.ox.ac.uk).