Ensuring an informed and effective dementia workforce is of international concern; however, there remains limited understanding of how this can be achieved. This review aimed to identify features of effective dementia educational programs. Critical interpretive synthesis underpinned by Kirkpatrick’s return on investment model was applied. One hundred and fifty-two papers of variable quality were included. Common features of more efficacious educational programs included the need for educational programs to be relevant to participants’ role and experience, involve active face-to-face participation, underpin practice-based learning with theory, be delivered by an experienced facilitator, have a total duration of at least 8 hours with individual sessions of 90 minutes or more, support application of learning in practice, and provide a structured tool or guideline to guide care practice. Further robust research is required to develop the evidence base; however, the findings of this review have relevance for all working in workforce education.

There is currently significant debate worldwide regarding business reporting. The concept of the 'business model' has entered into the discourse, as has the concept of 'integrated reporting', adding to the established debate regarding accounting for intangible assets and, more generally, intellectual capital (IC). Despite the tradition of extensive interdisciplinary borrowing in accounting, relevant literatures on business models and on modern managerial perspectives on competitive advantage have, to date, largely been ignored within the accounting literature. The main contribution of this conceptual paper is to identify and discuss the key features of these literature strands and their linkage to contemporary debates on narrative reporting. These conceptual linkages between IC, value creation and business models are illustrated by means of interview evidence from eleven company cases. It is concluded that the business model concept offers a powerful overarching concept within which to refocus the IC debate. The concept is holistic, multi-level, boundary-spanning and dynamic. The analysis supports the current calls for integrated disclosure around the central business model story. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Background: People with dementia occupy up to one quarter of acute hospital beds. However, the quality of care delivered to this patient group is of national concern. Staff working in acute hospitals report lack of knowledge, skills and confidence in caring for people with dementia. There is limited evidence about the most effective approaches to supporting acute hospital staff to deliver more person-centred care.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a specialist training programme for acute hospital staff regarding improving attitudes, satisfaction and feelings of caring efficacy, in provision of care to people with dementia.Design: A repeated measures design, with measures completed immediately prior to commencing training (T1), after completion of Foundation level training (T2: 4-6 weeks post-baseline), and following Intermediate level training (T3: 3-4 months postbaseline). Setting: One NHS Trust in the North of England, UK.Participants: 40 acute hospital staff working in clinical roles, the majority of whom (90%) were nurses.Methods: All participants received the 3.5 day Person-centred Care Training for Acute Hospitals (PCTAH) programme, comprised of two levels, Foundation (1/2 day) and Intermediate (3 days), delivered over a 3-4 month period. Staff demographics and previous exposure to dementia training was collected via a questionnaire. Staff attitudes were measured using the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ), satisfaction in caring for people with dementia was captured using the Staff Experiences of Working with Demented Residents questionnaire (SEWDR) and perceived caring efficacy was measured using the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES). Results:The training programme was effective in producing a significant positive change on all three outcome measures following intermediate training compared to baseline. A significant positive effect was found on the ADS between baseline and after completion of Foundation level training, but not for either of the other measures. Conclusions:Training acute hospital staff in Intermediate level person-centred dementia care is effective in producing significant improvements in attitudes towards and satisfaction in caring for people with dementia and feelings of caring efficacy. Foundation level training is effective in changing attitudes but does not seem to be sufficient to bring about change in satisfaction or caring efficacy.2 Keywords: acute hospitals; dementia; education; general hospitals; person-centred care; staff training. Contribution of the paper:What is already known about this topic? Care for people with dementia is has often been found to be of poor quality in acute general hospitals and deficiencies in staff knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver dementia care is a contributory factor.  Person-centred dementia care can improve quality of life for people with dementia in specialist settings but there remains limited knowledge and understanding about its application in acute hospitals.  There is limited research about the...

Objective To provide a new outcome measure for pregnancy specifically related to the individual. Design Computer analysis of physiological factors affecting birthweight. Setting Two provincial teaching hospitals (University and City Hospitals, Nottingham) and an associated district general hospital (Derby City Hospital) serving a defined catchment area in the East Midlands. Subjects All women delivering in the above hospitals since the start of computerised obstetric records: 31 561 women with gestational age verified by early pregnancy ultrasound scan data. Main Outcome Measures Calculation of the predicted birthweight taking into account maternal and fetal physiological factors. Derivation of the individualised birthweight ratio (actual birthweight divided by predicted birthweight expressed as a percentage) for each individual baby. Results The individualised birthweight ratio redefines as normally grown 41% of babies below the 10th centile of crude birthweight for gestation. Other babies previously regarded as normal are redefined as growth retarded. At the upper end of the distribution 46% of those above the 90th centile of birthweight for gestation are redefined as normally grown. Conclusions The predicted birthweight can be calculated for an individual pregnancy at a given gestation. The standardised comparison between this predicted birthweight and the actual birthweight is a more logical reflection of the normality of intrauterine growth and therefore more logical as an outcome measure for pregnancy than crude birthweight for gestation.

Background: In recent years, quality of life measures have been used increasingly to evaluate the

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract