Hi everyone
Thanks for all your comments and feedback. Several of the comments seem to be around similar themes, so I hope the below addresses most of what’s been raised.
Why ‘separate’ partners and other carers?
The ‘I have a partner with dementia’ forum was set up in response to feedback from a number of members who care for their partners, who told us they would like a place to be able to discuss some of the specific issues that affect them, with others in a similar position.
Having this section is really no different to us having had some of the sub-forums we’ve always had on TP, which recognise the specific issues that some groups of people may have - for example:
- the 'Younger people with dementia and their carers' forum
- the 'I have dementia' forum
- the 'After dementia - dealing with loss' forum.
Also, it’s important to stress that partners do not have to post in the ‘I have a partner with dementia’ forum - just as, for example, setting up the 'I have dementia' forum some years ago didn't mean that people with dementia had to post in there. Partners can still post in the ‘I care for a person with dementia’ forum if they prefer to - or indeed, in any other sub-forum in which they feel comfortable.
Why forums on different stages of dementia?
As I mentioned yesterday, we were very conscious when we worked on defining our new forums that the lines between different stages of dementia can be blurred.
What we are trying to acknowledge with these sub-forums, is that there will tend to be different sorts of issues that will present during different stages of dementia. As such, the main purpose of these forums is to help people find the discussions that may be most relevant to them - for example, a person adjusting to a new diagnosis might find it overwhelming to read conversations about care options, or end of life care.
Again, to reiterate from yesterday: there aren't hard and fast rules about when to post in these forums: mostly, it's about posting where feels comfortable for you, bearing in mind the way forums are described and the types of conversations that are in them.
You’re right Pheath, this is one of the lovely things about Talking Point, and of course we wouldn’t want to lose the pooled wisdom that is here. The reality is though, that messages were sometimes getting missed in the ‘Support for people with dementia and their carers’ forum, because it was so large and unwieldy, and because conversations covered such a wide range of topics. Also, when we asked volunteers in our testing project to search for particular topics, they struggled, and didn't understand why so many different kinds of conversation were all in the same place.
As I said yesterday, Talking Point has grown a lot since we last updated it, and what worked well for a smaller membership (e.g. having one general 'Support for people with dementia and their carers' forum) simply isn't workable for what is now a much busier and ever-growing TP. The main purpose of having more sub-forums on a wider range of topics, is helping to organise the conversations on Talking Point better, and to make it easier for people to find the information and support they are looking for.
I hope this makes sense. If I've missed a question or if anything isn't clear, please shout and I'll respond when I can.
Thanks,
Thanks for all your comments and feedback. Several of the comments seem to be around similar themes, so I hope the below addresses most of what’s been raised.
Why ‘separate’ partners and other carers?
The ‘I have a partner with dementia’ forum was set up in response to feedback from a number of members who care for their partners, who told us they would like a place to be able to discuss some of the specific issues that affect them, with others in a similar position.
Having this section is really no different to us having had some of the sub-forums we’ve always had on TP, which recognise the specific issues that some groups of people may have - for example:
- the 'Younger people with dementia and their carers' forum
- the 'I have dementia' forum
- the 'After dementia - dealing with loss' forum.
Also, it’s important to stress that partners do not have to post in the ‘I have a partner with dementia’ forum - just as, for example, setting up the 'I have dementia' forum some years ago didn't mean that people with dementia had to post in there. Partners can still post in the ‘I care for a person with dementia’ forum if they prefer to - or indeed, in any other sub-forum in which they feel comfortable.
Why forums on different stages of dementia?
As I mentioned yesterday, we were very conscious when we worked on defining our new forums that the lines between different stages of dementia can be blurred.
What we are trying to acknowledge with these sub-forums, is that there will tend to be different sorts of issues that will present during different stages of dementia. As such, the main purpose of these forums is to help people find the discussions that may be most relevant to them - for example, a person adjusting to a new diagnosis might find it overwhelming to read conversations about care options, or end of life care.
Again, to reiterate from yesterday: there aren't hard and fast rules about when to post in these forums: mostly, it's about posting where feels comfortable for you, bearing in mind the way forums are described and the types of conversations that are in them.
One of the lovely aspects of TP was so much pooled wisdom from a broad cross-section of people in varied circumstances and I hope this isn't compromised as fear some posts will get overlooked just because users don't access the relevant section or feel it is relevant to them.
You’re right Pheath, this is one of the lovely things about Talking Point, and of course we wouldn’t want to lose the pooled wisdom that is here. The reality is though, that messages were sometimes getting missed in the ‘Support for people with dementia and their carers’ forum, because it was so large and unwieldy, and because conversations covered such a wide range of topics. Also, when we asked volunteers in our testing project to search for particular topics, they struggled, and didn't understand why so many different kinds of conversation were all in the same place.
As I said yesterday, Talking Point has grown a lot since we last updated it, and what worked well for a smaller membership (e.g. having one general 'Support for people with dementia and their carers' forum) simply isn't workable for what is now a much busier and ever-growing TP. The main purpose of having more sub-forums on a wider range of topics, is helping to organise the conversations on Talking Point better, and to make it easier for people to find the information and support they are looking for.
I hope this makes sense. If I've missed a question or if anything isn't clear, please shout and I'll respond when I can.
Thanks,