The Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester has kicked off a research project to explore the ability of extra care housing to support people living with dementia.
The project is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research and will be looking at the three most popular approaches to caring for people with dementia in this type of housing.
According to NIHR, the three most popular approaches are: integrated, where people with dementia live alongside other residents without dementia; segregated, where people with dementia all live together in a separate area; specialist, which is exclusively for residents living with dementia.
The project will run over 18 months and will engage with nine case studies sites to provide access to the three models but also look for diversity in geographical area and different populations.
“Extra care housing is growing in popularity among older adults, but little is known about which approach provides the most benefit to people living with dementia,” said NIHR research fellow and co-principal investigator Teresa Atkinson (pictured).
“The findings from the project will help commissioners, care providers, housing providers and families to understand more about what extra care can offer to people living with dementia and how it can best support their wellbeing,” she added.
The project has the support of the HousingLIN, the Housing & Dementia Research Consortium, Worcestershire County Council, Housing & Care 21 and also the benefits of experts by experience.
For further information, contact Teresa Atkinson at t.atkinson@worc.ac.uk.
