Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

Online Course

Newcastle University

Future Learn

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Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

What is the course about?
Prerequisites & Facts
Cost, Certificate & Degree
Reviews & Experiences

What is the course about?

Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

The course Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well is an online class provided by Newcastle University through Future Learn. It may be possible to receive a verified certification or use the course to prepare for a degree.

An award-winning course, to help carers stay connected to loved ones, manage stress at home, and defuse difficult situations.

Course description

3 weeks

If you are a carer for a person living with dementia then this is a course for you.
When it comes to understanding and supporting a person living with dementia, family carers are very often the most skilled and knowledgeable. Yet, you will know that carers can face a number of really stressful situations that can be difficult to deal with.
Get advice on connecting with and caring for someone with dementia
This course will provide you with knowledge and advice that can help you connect with and care for someone living with dementia. We will focus on everyday experiences that are seen as particularly challenging and stressful, such as combining employment with caring for someone living with dementia.
Newcastle University has great expertise in ageing and dementia research. We specialise in understanding dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), so this course will shine a light on some of the stressful symptoms and communication problems associated with this condition. It will also cover the challenges of other types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Meet other dementia carers and academic experts
Over the three weeks, you will meet other carers and academic experts who have developed strategies and practical steps to improve communication – something which is crucially important for building and maintaining relationships and for effectively negotiating daily life.
By the end of the course, you will develop a new understanding of:
the brain and different types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB),
what a person with dementia is experiencing,
challenging situations and behaviours that can cause carer stress,
strategies for improving verbal and non-verbal communication.

Changing understandings of dementia
Types and symptoms of dementia
Structure and functions of the brain
Characteristics of dementia with Lewy bodies
Ongoing inner life and the concept of personhood
Understanding communication (channels, modes and contexts)
Reflecting on the caring role (experiences, stresses and self-compassion)
Understanding Alzheimer’s disease and the concept of ‘time shift’
Understanding the communication challenges of dementia with Lewy bodies
Reflecting on caring at a distance
Activities of daily living and dementia (focusing on mealtimes and using the bathroom)
Understanding challenging behaviour
Identifying unmet need
Avoiding confrontation
Exploring assistive technologies to improve communication
Sharing insights to support future care innovations

Describe the different forms of dementia including the distinctive characteristics of dementia with Lewy bodies
Explore the communication challenges affecting carers of people with dementia
Improve strategies for verbal and non-verbal communication between carers and people with dementia
Explain how to handle challenging situations that can cause carer stress
Contribute to ideas for innovation and better communication

This course is designed for the family, friends and carers of people with dementia.
This course and its related course Dementia Care: Living Well as Dementia Progresses won the Outstanding Educational Resource award at the National Dementia Awards.

Newcastle University
A thriving international community of over 20,000 students. The university’s mission as a world-class civic university means it applies its academic excellence to real-world challenges.

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Prerequisites & Facts

Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

Course Topic

Healthcare & Medicine, Nursing, Psychology & Mental Health

University, College, Institution

Newcastle University

Course Skill Level

see course summary

Course Language

English

Place of class

Online, self-paced (see curriculum for more information)

Degree

Certificate

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Degree & Cost

Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

To obtain a verified certificate from Future Learn / Newcastle University you have to finish this course or the latest version of it, if there is a new edition. The class may be free of charge, but there could be some cost to receive a verified certificate or to access the learning materials. The specifics of the course may have been changed, please consult the provider to get the latest quotes and news.

Newcastle University

Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well

provided by Future Learn

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