Free resources

One of our fundamental principles at the Association for Dementia Studies (ADS) is to build evidence-based practical ways of working with people living with dementia and their families that enables them to live well. One way we do this is offering education materials that you can deliver to staff within your own organisation.

Take a look at the sections below to explore some of our free materials.

 

Care Fit for VIPS toolkit

This free online toolkit allows you to self-assess your services and includes signposting to resources for areas of the audit that you wish to do improvements. If you have a part in running a care home, domiciliary care service or day centre where there are people with dementia, Care Fit for VIPS is for you.

The underlying concept for the toolkit uses Professor Dawn Brooker’s widely recognised VIPS framework of person-centred care. VIPS stands for:

  • V = Values people – Values and promotes the rights of the person
  • I = Individual’s needs – Provides individualised care according to needs
  • P = Perspective of service user – Understands care from the perspective of the person with dementia
  • S = Supportive social psychology – Social environment enables the person to remain in relationship

The guiding principles behind VIPS are:

  • Do my actions show that I respect, value and honour this person?
  • Am I treating this person as a unique individual?
  • Am I making a serious attempt to see my actions from the perspective of the person I am trying to help? How might my actions be interpreted by them?
  • Do my actions help this person to feel socially confident and that they are not alone?

The VIPS framework and concepts used by the toolkit also underpin many of the training and education programmes offered by ADS, including the ‘Person-Centred Leadership’ module on our Postgraduate Certificate in Person-Centred Dementia Studies.

The toolkit is easy to use and easy to navigate, making it practical and attractive to users. It is also completely free to access and use. If you would like help using the toolkit, dedicated education, or assistance from ADS to complete the toolkit and provide advice on prioritising changes, please contact us to find out more about our services (dementia@worc.ac.uk).

Environmental Assessment Tools

The suite of environmental assessment tools can be downloaded in either PDF or App format. We are able to support the use of the tool and provide consultancy in this field. For example, we have worked with organisations to create organisational dementia friendly environment standards. If you would like support to use the tools or to explore opportunities relating to inclusive environments, please contact us dementia@worc.ac.uk

Cultural competency training resource

Home is Where the Heart is: Training for home care supporters for people living with dementia from diverse cultures.

This resource was created for Training and Quality Managers in domiciliary care organisations to provide education for their staff. The education package can be used by anyone with responsibility for education and quality in organisations that provide care for people living with dementia in their own homes. It is made up of three 90-minute teaching sessions that can be delivered all on the same day or sequentially over a number of days to suit the organisation’s needs. Using a mixture of presentations, video clips, case studies and activities the programme provides your staff with the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills required to help people with dementia from diverse cultures to live well.

Whilst aimed at domiciliary care it is suitable for use in other settings. You and your training department are welcome to use these resources. Guidance on how to use the teaching materials can be found in the Resource Handbook.

Session 1: Understanding dementia

Session 2: Life history and culture

Session 3: Families and cultural diversity

Stand by Me: an online learning resource

This resource is currently unavailable but we are working to rectify this.

Stand by Me is an e-learning resource which is available free of charge. It aims to support learners to understand how to support people with dementia by developing good communication and person-centred care in their own practice, within teams and within organisations. It is made up of a number of scenarios, so organisations and individuals select the ones that they wish to do, along with the mandatory modules.

The course incorporates six video dramatisations across different settings including following Maggie and Mick as Maggie receives a diagnosis of dementia, gets help at home, and moves into a residential care home; and following Marty and Mary and his family as he needs emergency medical care, a stay on an acute hospital ward and as he nears the end of his life. The Stand by Me course is divided into 10 interactive modules, with the 10th module being the assessment. Additional video content is included from professionals across a range of health and social care settings, and from families of people living with dementia. It also outlines detailed factual information on person-centred care, the nature and different types of dementia, and the different ways the symptoms of dementia can be managed.

  • Session 1 - Introduction to Stand by Me (mandatory)
  • Session 2 - Good communication and person-centred care (mandatory)
  • Session 3 - Primary Care
  • Session 4 - Home Care
  • Session 5 - Moving to Residential Care
  • Session 6 - Emergency Services
  • Session 7 - Acute Care
  • Session 8 - End of Life
  • Session 9 - Factual Information on Dementia (mandatory)
  • Session 10 - Assessment (mandatory)