Exploring dilemmas in hydration care provision for residents with moderate to severe dementia to inform development of focussed training materials for care staff (BunnD17HSC) at University of East Anglia on FindAPhD.com

This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.

Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities

Dr D Bunn No more applications being accepted Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

About the Project

This is an exciting opportunity for a nurse or other health professional to undertake a funded PhD which aims to develop focussed training for care staff which acknowledges the challenges and dilemmas care staff face when caring for residents with moderate to severe dementia who are reluctant or refusing to drink sufficiently. This is a challenging dilemma for carers, who need to ensure that residents drink sufficiently when reluctant or refusing to do so, whilst acknowledging resident choice, but knowing that residents who do not drink sufficiently may become dehydrated within hours. Dehydration is known to be associated with poor health, increasing agitation and increased risk of hospital admission and mortality, so prevention, by supporting drinking, is vitally important.

This mixed methods study, using both qualitative and quantitative methods will enable the student to develop expertise in a number of methods, including ethnography, semi-structured and structured interviewing techniques, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and development of a feasibility study. A key component of this study is collaboration with care home residents, their families and staff to ensure that the study and its findings are relevant. The student will be supervised by a team with expertise in hydration care research, dementia care and collaborating with people who live, work and visit care homes.

At the UEA, the PhD student will join a vibrant research team, and their PhD project will contribute to, and benefit from, other related research projects in dementia and hydration care, in an exciting clinical research environment.

Research outputs from this project will include publication of scientific manuscripts, national and international collaborations, and dissemination to stakeholders, including international conference participation.

Further details
Programme type: PhD
Start Date: April 2018
Studentship length: 3 years
Mode of study: Full time
For more information on the supervisor for this project, please visit https://www.uea.ac.uk/health-sciences/people/profile/d-bunn

Funding Notes

This PhD project studentship is jointly funded by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, CLAHRC East of England and Norfolk and Suffolk Primary and Community Care Research Office This studentship is funded for 3 years and comprises home/EU fees, an annual stipend of £14,553 and £1000 per annum to support research training.

Entry Requirements:
The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1 or above or a Masters degree in a health-related degree, including Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Dietitian.

References

i). Hooper L, Bunn D, Jimoh FO, Fairweather-Tait SJ. Water-loss dehydration and aging. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 2014; 136(1): 50-8.
ii). Natalwala A, Potluri R, Uppal H, Heun R. Reasons for Hospital Admissions in Dementia Patients in Birmingham, UK, during 2002–2007. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders 2008; 26(6): 499-505.
iii). Hooper L, Bunn DK, Downing A, et al. Which Frail Older People Are Dehydrated? the UK DRIE Study. Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2016; 71(10): 1341-7.
iv). Bunn D, Hooper L, Poland F. Thinking about Drinking: Identifying drivers and barriers to hydration in older care home residents. The Gerontologist 2015; 55(Suppl_2): 594-.
v). Bunn D, Abdelhamid A, Copley M, et al. Effectiveness of interventions to indirectly support food and drink intake in people with dementia: Eating and Drinking Well IN dementiA (EDWINA) systematic review. BMC Geriatrics 2016; 16(1): 1-18.

Where will I study?

University of East Anglia

We’re one of the UK’s leading research institutions, ranked 10th in the UK for the quality of our research outputs and with more than 1,500 research students.

Exploring dilemmas in hydration care provision for residents with moderate to severe dementia to inform development of focussed training materials for care staff (BunnD17HSC)

University of East Anglia School of Health Sciences