School of Health in Social Science

The 'New Dementia': Widening Choices for People with Dementia

Widening Choices for People with Dementia addresses an emerging and substantial issue in relation to suitable housing options for people with dementia who have received an early diagnosis and have been living with dementia for five-plus years.

Some of these people have coined the phrase ‘the New Dementia’ because their experience defies dominant medical understandings of the middle stage of dementia. People in this group continue to lead active lives, and, while they do need support and may not be able to stay at home much longer, they are not ready to move to institutional-like care homes.

The work took place between April and September 2017. It aimed to support people with dementia, policy makers and other stakeholders in Scotland to learn from other countries, and each other, about alternative housing-with care/care home models, through co-produced films, workshops and a briefing paper.

This work is innovative in that it addresses an emerging situation, works with people with dementia to find solutions, and seeks to learn from people with dementia in other countries where alternative housing-with-care/care home models are further advanced.

Outputs and resources

A briefing paper has been co-produced with those participants through the process of two workshops. It aims to share the reflections of the group with key influencers in Scotland.  Read the paper:

 

 

Useful Links