Reducing inequalities for people living alone with dementia.
This DeNPRU Exeter project has produced comprehensive policy recommendations that could help reduce the significant inequalities experienced by individuals living alone with dementia. These focus on four themes:
- Acknowledging the scale of the issue
- Adapting pathways and services to provide more responsive personalised care
- Strengthening community support
- Making research inclusive and practically relevant
Key impacts to date:
- Inclusion in The Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool. ‘Criteria 1.11. Commissioned services take into account the individual needs of those living alone with dementia’
- Evidence embedded in Alzheimer’s Society Local Dementia Strategy Toolkit. ‘Preventing Well. Recommendation 3.3: Systems should establish a preventative approach to reducing self-neglect among people living with dementia’
- Submitted as evidence to the 10-Year Health Plan to inform the three key shifts in healthcare
- Cited in Care England’s report ‘The current state of dementia diagnosis and care in England’ highlighting the significant gaps and inequalities in the dementia care pathway
This research demonstrates how people living alone with dementia have more unmet needs than those living with others and face significant inequalities across the diagnosis and care pathway. It suggests the need to find new and better ways of meeting the needs of people living alone with dementia.
Proactive support and crisis prevention will ease pressures on NHS and social care services and help people living alone with dementia to maintain their independence and live well.
Read more about the project here.