title: Therapeutic lying in dementia care.
abstract: As part of a service evaluation, a questionnaire and a 12-item set of guidelines on the use of therapeutic lies were sent electronically to 76 psychiatrists in north east England; 38% (n = 29) of the psychiatrists responded. Approximately three quarters of the respondents (n = 21) thought the guidelines could improve communication skills, but only half (n = 15) felt the guidelines provided an ethical guide to practice. Of note is the fact that 69% (n = 20) of the respondents said they had lied to someone lacking capacity when it was deemed to be in the person's best interests and 66% (n = 19) said they had sanctioned the use of lies by carers. These results are discussed, alongside qualitative information to explore the use of therapeutic lies in dementia care.
authors.affiliation: Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Culley
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D008192:Deception; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires