Mapping advance care planning and advance directives in Latin America.

Background/aims: The extent to which low- and middle-income countries have implemented Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Advance Directives (AD) remains unclear. We aimed to map the current status of ACP/AD in Latin America.

Methods: This cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey of ACP/AD in LA comprised interviews with 18 key informants from 18 out of 20 countries, most of whom were appointed by national Palliative Care Associations.

Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change.

This paper describes the development of an adult social care (ASC) research capacity-building partnership and the corresponding theory of change that underpins this work. In 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded six social care capacity building partnerships across England to improve the quality and quantity of social care research. These partnerships facilitate collaborative working between universities, local authorities, practitioners, providers, and people with lived experience.

"It's my life, it's my choice and I want to say when" vs "A good death is to be on good terms with God". Comparing the views of people with dementia in the UK and Brazil about a good death: a cross-cultural qualitative study.

Background: It is unclear what People Living with Dementia (PLwD) consider a good death to entail, or how those perspectives vary according to culture and context. We aimed to compare the meaning of a good death for PLwD in Brazil and in the United Kingdom (UK).

Methods: In this cross-sectional qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 32 PLwD (16 in Brazil and 16 in the UK) using jointly designed, equivalent interview guides.

Enhancing quality of life measurement: adapting the ASCOT easy read for older adults accessing social care.

Purpose: This study aimed to adapt and assess the content validity of the ASCOT Easy Read (ASCOT-ER) for older people accessing social care.

Methods: A co-production working group of 8 older social care users and their supporters was established to evaluate the comprehensibility and relevance of the ASCOT-ER images, wording and layout. Changes made by the working group were iteratively tested using cognitive interviewing techniques (think aloud) with 25 older social care users not able to self-complete the original ASCOT.

Our approach to developing communities of practice to foster research capacities for the adult social care workforce.

Background: Efforts to build and foster adult social care research in England have historically encountered more challenges to its growth and expansion compared with health research, with a sector facing significant barriers in facilitating research activity due to a lack of resourcing, poor valuation or understanding of the profile of social care research. The landscape for supporting the social care workforce to use, engage in and undertake research in adult social care has been rather bleak, but in recent years there has been recognition of the need to foster a social care workforce research community. The National Institute for Health and Care Research in England have committed to investing in social care research capacity by funding six adult social care partnerships, with one based in Southeast England.

Family carer experiences of hospice care at home: Qualitative findings from a mixed methods realist evaluation.

Background: Hospice-at-home aims to enable patients approaching end-of-life to die at home and support their carers. A wide range of different service models exists but synthesised evidence on how best to support family carers to provide sustainable end-of-life care at home is limited.

Aim: To explore what works best to promote family carers' experiences of hospice-at-home.

Scale and spread of innovation in health and social care: Insights from the evaluation of the New Care Model/Vanguard programme in England.

Objective: Little is known about how to achieve scale and spread beyond the early local adoption of an innovative health care programme. We use the New Care Model - or 'Vanguard' - programme in the English National Health Service to illuminate the process, assessing why only one of five Vanguard programmes was successfully scaled up.

Methods: We interviewed a wide range of stakeholders involved in the Vanguard programme, including programme leads, provider organisations, and policymakers.

What makes a socially skilled leader? Findings from the implementation and operation of New Care Models (Vanguards) in England.

Purpose: The article aims to argue that the concept of "distributed leadership" lacks the specificity required to allow a full understanding of how change happens. The authors therefore utilise the "Strategic Action Field Framework" (SAF) (Moulton and Sandfort, 2017) as a more sensitive framework for understanding leadership in complex systems. The authors use the New Care Models (Vanguard) Programme as an exemplar.

Investigating the nature and quality of locally commissioned evaluations of the NHS Vanguard programme: an evidence synthesis.

Background: With innovation in service delivery increasingly viewed as crucial to the long-term sustainability of health systems, NHS England launched an ambitious new model of care (Vanguard) programme in 2015. Supported by a £350 million transformation fund, 50 Vanguard sites were to act as pilots for innovation in service delivery, to move quickly to change the way that services were delivered, breaking down barriers between sectors and improving the coordination and delivery of care.

Methods: As part of a national evaluation of the Vanguard programme, we conducted an evidence synthesis to assess the nature and quality of locally commissioned evaluations.

Factors influencing trends in opioid prescribing for older people: a scoping review.

Aim: The review aimed to identify factors influencing opioid prescribing as regular pain-management medication for older people.

Background: Chronic pain occurs in 45%-85% of older people, but appears to be under-recognised and under-treated. However, strong opiate prescribing is more prevalent in older people, increasing at the fastest rate in this age group.