Dr. Margareta Halek
Group Leader
German Center for Neurodegenrative Diseases (DZNE)
Postfach 6250
Stockumer Str. 12
58453 Witten
margareta.halek(at)dzne.de
+49 (0) 2302 / 926-108
+49 (0) 2302 / 926-239
More information
Areas of investigation/research focus
The working group “Care Interventions”
The main question pursued by the working group Care Interventions is:
"What helps people with dementia in dealing with the consequences of their disease?"
The patients and their families do what they can to retain normality as far as possible, to hang onto their "old life" and to keep the quality of life at its usual level in spite of the disease. Maintaining a normal everyday life is a very complex process, which affects many areas of life, life phases and the different parties involved.
The working group targets people at all stages of dementia and their families. It develops supportive interventions for all available settings that encourage, inform, educate and relieve the professional as well as the non-professional parties involved. The focus is on the whole range of supportive interventions for everyday life that are being developed and tested in terms of their effectiveness. The interventions range from informing the people involved to enabling them to undertake certain activities.
Of special significance are the so-called challenging behaviours of people with dementia, a very relevant issue for the patients and one of the greatest burdens for the people in their immediate environment. The question is when and why these behavioural problems arise and how they can be explained, because this is a prerequisite for the development of more adequate interventions.
The substantial issues of the working group Care Interventions include:
- Identification and diagnosis of challenging behaviour
- Care strategies with a focus on challenging behavior including the understanding diagnostics
- What interventions are effective, especially in the face of challenging behaviour?
- Multi-professional support for people with dementia
- Which interventions are helpful for reducing the stress for caregivers (formal and informal)?
- Figure 1 Research areas of the working group care interventions
A second research focus is the research methodology. We will investigate the kind of relevant effects of an intervention, how these can be operationalized and measured and which data sources are adequate. Starting from the perspective of people with dementia, the relevant outcomes for optimal care will be defined.
Currently, quality of life is regarded as the optimal outcome. However, there are many other effects such as participation in social life, the preservation of the partnership and autonomy. The challenge is that every person has her/his own idea of what, for example, “quality of life” really means. The task to be solved is to combine the subjective with an objective perspective in an appropriate research design. The assessment instruments for challenging behaviour are a further issue, as their multitude already shows that it is difficult to develop a universal instrument. The working group will be making a contribution to research on this issue, too.
The methodological issues of the working group Care Interventions include:
- Development and adaptation of assessment and research tools
- Development of appropriate study designs, especially for the investigation of dementia-specific complex individualized interventions.
Publications
Community-dwelling persons with dementia: What do they need? What do they demand? What do they do? A systematic review on the subjective experiences of persons with dementia.
von Kutzleben M, Schmid W, Halek M, Holle B, Bartholomeyczik S. Aging Ment Health. 2012 Apr;16(3):378-90. Epub 2012 Jan 18.
Description of the behaviour of wandering in people with dementia living in nursing homes - a review of the literature.
M Halek, S Bartholomeyczik; Scand J Caring Sci. 2011 Oct 28. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2011.00932.x. [Epub ahead of print]
The influence of understanding diagnostics on perceived stress of nurses caring for nursing home residents with dementia
D Holle, M Halek, H Mayer, S Bartholomeyczik; Pflege. 2011 Oct;24(5):303-16.
Validity, reliability, and feasibility of a quality of life questionnaire for people with dementia.
M Dichter, S Bartholomeyczik, J Nordheim, W Achterberg, M Halek; Z Gerontol Geriatr. 2011 Dec;44(6):405-410.
Implementation and Evaluation of "Understanding Diagnostics" on the example of the light house projekt InDemA.
D Hardenacke, S Bartholomeyczik, M Halek, May 2011, Pflege & Gesellschaft, 16 (2), 101-115.
Herausforderndes Verhalten demenzkranker Menschen. Demenz psychosozial behandeln - Psychosoziale Interventionen bei Demenz in Praxis und Forschung.
Bartholomeyczik S, Halek M (2011). J HaberstrohJ Pantel. Heidelberg, AKA Verlag: 281-293.
Umgang mit herausforderndem Verhalten in der professionellen Pflege. IdA als Instrument zu Klärung der Gründe.
M Halek, S Bartholomeyczik; Psychotherapie im Alter, 7(4), 507-520. 2010.
Entwicklung und Testung eines strukturierten Assessmentbogens zur Erfassung der Auslöser für herausforderndes Verhalten von Menschen mit Demenz in der stationären Altenhilfe.
Halek M (2010). Dissertation, Universität Witten/ Herdecke
Welche Kenntnisse benötigen Pflegende um zwischen Selbst- und Fremdeeinschätzung von Schmerz bei Menschen mit mittelschwerer Demenz eintscheiden zu können.
Sirsch E, Halek M,Bartholomeyczik S (2010). Deutscher Schmerzkongress Mannheim
[Promoting patient-oriented dementia research - current issues in the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Witten/Herdecke University].
Bartholomeyczik S, Holle B, Riesner C, Halek M, Vollmar HC (2010), Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen, 104 (10): 744-753
“Construct validity and homogeneity of the German version of the QUALIDEM by people with dementia”
Dichter M, Bartholomeyczik S, Mayer H, Fischer T, Nordheim J, Halek M (2010), Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19 (Suppl. 1): 43.
Rahmenempfehlungen zum Umgang mit herausforderndem Verhalten bei Menschen mit Demenz in der stationären Altenhilfe.
Halek M (2010), Bundespflegekonferenz der Johanniter. Eisenach
Fallbesprechungen zum herausforderndem Verhalten von Menschen mit Demenz mit Hilfe des IdA.
Halek M (2010), Siebentes Gerontopsychiatrisches Symposium. Psychische und Verhaltensstörungen bei Demenz. S J-K Alexianter. Berlin-Weissensee.
Herausforderndes Verhalten: Hintergründe, Erklärungen und Zusammenhänge.
Halek M (2010), Siebentes Gerontopsychiatrisches Symposium. Psychische und Verhaltensstörungen bei Demenz. S J-K Alexianer. Berlin-Weissensee.
"Der Drang sich zu bewegen."
Halek M (2010), Pflegen: Demenz 16: 8-14.
Utilization of "Understanding diagnostics": Nurses´ experiences and its impact on nurses´stress.
Hardenacke D, Halek M, Mayer H, Bartholomeyczik S (2010), Coming on Age: Dementia in the 21st Century. London.
"Impact of individualized case conferences on residents´challenging behaviour and quality of life in long-term care"
Hardenacke D, Halek M, Mayer H, Bureick G, Wilm S, Knee R, Krüger C, Bartholomeyczik S (2010), Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19 (Suppl. 1): 52.
The implementation of "understanding diagnostics" for residents with dementia in nursing homes and their effects on residents´challenging behaviour and quality of life.
Hardenacke D, Halek M, Mayer H, Bureick G, Wilm S, Knee R, Krüger C, Bartholomeyczik S (2010), Coming on Age: Dementia in the 21st Century. London.
"Entwicklungen der deutschsprachigen Pflegewissenschaft im Spiegel der PFLEGE - Veröffentlichung von 1988-2007 [Developments of nursing research within German-speaking countries - Publications from 1988 until 2007 in the journal "Pflege"]."
Hausner E, Halek M, Bartholomeyczik S (2010), Pflege 23(5): 339-345.