Event: Supporting the sexuality and intimacy needs of care home residents

Seminar: Sexuality and Intimacy Needs of Care Home Residents.

Date: 4th October 2018

Time: 1:00– 4:00pm

Location: G306B, The Jean McFarlane Building, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/maps/interactive-map/?id=32).

MICRA (Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing) hosts its first seminar of the 2018/19 academic year on 4th October.

Let’s Talk about the ‘S’ Word! Supporting the Sexuality and Intimacy Needs of Care Home Residents. The seminar is led by Dr Laura Brown who will present recent work done by the Older People’s Understanding of Sexuality’ (OPUS) research team on skilling up care home staff to better support their residents’ sexuality and intimacy needs. Beverley Page-Banks will share the outputs of a recent Alzheimer’s Society Innovation project on meeting the sex and intimacy needs of people living with dementia. Neil Allen from the School of Law will talk about human rights and mental capacity around intimate relationships. The event will be chaired by Dr Christine Brown Wilson from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University in Belfast, who is a registered nurse with an international research profile in ageing and dementia.

Basic human needs relating to sexuality, intimacy, and relationships are important for adults of all ages. However, for older people living in care homes, even the simple, intimate behaviours that many of us take for granted, such as sharing a cuddle with a partner, can become impossible. This can be particularly problematic for residents with cognitive impairment, or high levels of dependency, where issues of safeguarding, personal responsibility, and capacity to consent add complexity. Residents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) may face additional challenges, such as judgement, discrimination and social exclusion from others.

The event is aimed at academics, policy makers, healthcare providers, care homes and care providers and the general public.

To attend this event please register for a free ticket via Eventbrite.