BackgroundFew studies explore stroke survivor views and motivations towards stem cell therapy (SCT). This qualitative study explores the views and motivations of both stroke survivors and their partners/carers towards a proposed 2‐arm Phase III Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) comparing intracerebral insertion of stem cells with placebo neurosurgery in stroke survivors with disability.ObjectiveTo explore views and motivations towards a proposed 2‐arm stem cell trial and identify factors that may impede and enhance participation.DesignThis study adopts a naturalistic design to explore the complexity of this field, employing a participatory action‐research approach comprising a specialized Conversation (World) Café form of focus group. Data were collected via 5 Conversation Cafés with stroke survivors (age 40‐75) and partners/carers between June and October 2016. Of 66 participants, 53 (31 male, 22 female) were stroke survivors and 13 (6 female, 7 male) were partners/carers. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach.Discussion and ConclusionStroke survivor views and motivations reflect anticipation of the personal and future benefits of regenerative medicine. Partners/carers sought to balance the value of stroke survivor hope with carrying the weight of hope as carer, a conflict burden adding to known caregiver burden. All participants expressed the need for during and post‐trial psychological support. This study provides a rare opportunity to explore the prospective views and motivations of stroke survivors and their partners/carers towards a proposed Phase III 2‐arm RCT. This adds weight to qualitative evidence exploring capacity, consent, decision making, perceptions of treatment risk and supports required for clinical trial participation.

Many people with dementia, supported by family carers, prefer to live at home and may rely on homecare support services. People with dementia are also often living with multimorbidities, including cancer. The main risk factor for both cancer and dementia is age and the number of people living with dementia and cancer likely to rise. Upskilling the social care workforce to facilitate more complex care is central to national workforce strategies and challenges. Training and education development must also respond to the key requirements of a homecare workforce experiencing financial, recruitment and retention difficulties. This systematic review of reviews provides an overview of dementia and cancer training and education accessible to the homecare workforce. Findings reveal there is a diverse range of training and education available, with mixed evidence of effectiveness. Key barriers and facilitators to effective training and education are identified in order to inform future training, education and learning development for the homecare workforce supporting people with dementia and cancer.

Dementia is recognised as the biggest health crisis of our time in terms of high personal and social costs and wider impact on health and social care systems. Increases in people living with dementia and multi-morbidities presents critical challenges for home care worldwide. Health-care systems struggle to provide adequate home-care services, delivering limited care restricted to a single-condition focus. This study explored the experiences and expectations of home care from the multiple perspectives of people living with dementia and multi-morbidities and home-care workers providing support. Findings draw from qualititative semi-structured interviews with people with dementia (N = 2), their partners (N = 2), other partners or family carers (N = 6) and home-care workers (N = 26). Three themes are identified: (a) the preference for and value of home; (b) inadequate home-care provision and enhanced care burden; and (c) limited training and education. Despite continued calls for home-care investment, the focus on reduction in costs hides key questions and further dialogue is required exploring how people with dementia can be supported to live independently and flourish at home. This study considers these complex experiences and care requirements through the prism of disability and human rights frameworks. This paper concludes with consideration of more recent human social rights debate. We discuss critically what this may mean for people living with dementia and consider the implications for co-requisite policy development to optimise available home-care support.

Purpose As part of a pilot studyassessing the feasibility of record-linking health and social care data, the purpose of this paper is to examine patterns of non-delivery of home care among older clients (>65 years) of a social home care provider in Glasgow, Scotland. The paper also assesses whether non-delivery is associated with subsequent emergency hospital admission. Design/methodology/approach After obtaining appropriate permissions, the electronic records of all home care clients were linked to a hospital inpatient database and anonymised. Data on home care plans were collated for 4,815 older non-hospitalised clients, and non-delivered visits were examined. Using case-control methodology, those who had an emergency hospital admission in the next calendar month were identified (n=586), along with age and sex-matched controls, to determine whether non-delivery was a risk factor for hospital admission. Findings There were 4,170 instances of “No Access” non-delivery among 1,411 people, and 960 instances of “Service Refusal” non-delivery among 427 people. The median number of undelivered visits was two among the one-third of clients who did not receive all their planned care. There were independent associations between being male and living alone, and non-delivery, while increasing age was associated with a decreased likelihood of non-delivery. Having any undelivered home care was associated with an increased risk of emergency hospital admission, but this could be due to uncontrolled confounding. Research limitations/implications This study demonstrates untapped potential for innovative research into the quality of social care and effects on health outcomes. Originality/value Non-delivery of planned home care, for whatever reason, is associated with emergency hospital admission; this could be a useful indicator of vulnerable clients needing increased surveillance.