Human Rights in Dementia Care - (University of Bradford Dementia Good Practice Guides) by Suzanne Cahill & Fiona Kelly & Helen Rochford-Brennan

About the Book

A must-read for care professionals, people living with dementia, and family caregivers, this practical handbook answers key questions about human rights in dementia care. Drawing on research and practice, it explains the principles of human rights approaches and how to apply that theory to enhance your practice and improve quality of life.

Book Synopsis

Human rights are a key issue for all healthcare and social care practitioners, and almost every aspect of dementia care has a human rights dimension. How can we balance the individual's right for dignity, autonomy and privacy against the backdrop of time constraints, duty of care and limited resources? Can a person with dementia be supported to participate in decision making? Is assistive technology always empowering? What must it feel like to be denied a dementia- specific service because of one's age?

This practice guide addresses these along with other critical questions, helping you to better understand the diverse and often complex dimensions of dementia caregiving. It provides a new framework to enable you to apply a human rights approach to real life situations, placing the person with dementia at the centre stage and keeping their dignity, independence, sense of purpose and quality of life at the fore. The book builds on person-centred principles, uses case studies to demonstrate theory and provides new analytical tools to support all those committed to best practice in dementia care.

Review Quotes

In Ireland, aspiring to the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), we are committed to ensuring that people living with dementia are supported with dignity and have the right to autonomy and freedom. Human Rights in Dementia Care powerfully illustrates how a rights-based approach can be applied from diagnosis through to end-of-life care. Grounded in lived experience, practical models, and the application of international conventions, this book is an essential guide. It challenges us all-constructively and positively-to reflect on and transform our approach to dementia care in Ireland.--Andy Heffernan, Chief Executive, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland

Human Rights in Dementia Care is the most important book on care of persons with dementia that I have read in years. The book transcends typical approaches and shows how combining a Human Rights perspective and the best clinical approaches can lead to high quality care. The book gives a strong foundation for how medical and social care professionals can go beyond usual care and how they can treat persons with dementia with respect, dignity and with the freedom to make their own decisions.--Professor Steven Zarit PhD, distinguished Emeritus Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

A compelling guide to working with families affected by dementia through a human rights lens with a focus on individual care settings and key points in the dementia journey. The chapter format enables the application of human rights to better inform practice, for example, 'food for thought' to provoke reflection on practice and prompt further thinking.--Karen Harrison Dening, Head of Research and Publications at Dementia UK

Talk of human rights can soon become vacuous. This book gives authoritative, practical and humane substance to the patent truth that people living with dementia should expect to be treated in ways that are compatible with their basic human rights.--Julian C. Hughes, Honorary Professor, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK

About the Author

Suzanne Cahill is Adjunct Professor of Social Work and Social Policy Trinity College Dublin, Honorary Professor of Dementia Care, NUI Galway, Affiliated Professor of Health and Welfare, Jonkoping University, Sweden.

Fiona Kelly is a former lecturer in nursing at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Her own practice, teaching and research are informed by human rights.

Helen Rochford-Brennan is a Global Dementia Ambassador, Vice Chair of the Irish Dementia Working Group, former Chairperson of the European Working Group of People with Dementia and its nominee to the Board of Alzheimer Europe.