Background:In this paper, we report progress on “Neighborhoods: our people, our places” an international study about how people living with dementia interact with their neighborhoods. The ideas of social health and citizenship are drawn upon to contextualize the data and make a case for recognizing and understanding the strengths and agency of people with dementia. In particular, we address the lived experience of the environment as a route to better understanding the capabilities, capacities, and competencies of people living with dementia. In doing this, our aim is to demonstrate the contribution of social engagement and environmental support to social health.Methods:The study aims to “map” local spaces and networks across three field sites (Manchester, Central Scotland and Linkoping, Sweden). It employs a mix of qualitative and participatory approaches that include mobile and visual methods intended to create knowledge that will inform the design and piloting of a neighborhood-based intervention.Results:Our research shows that the neighborhood plays an active role in the lives of people with dementia, setting limits, and constraints but also offering significant opportunities, encompassing forms of help and support as yet rarely discussed in the field of dementia studies. The paper presents new and distinctive insights into the relationship between neighborhoods and everyday life for people with dementia that have important implications for the debate on social health and policy concerning dementia friendly communities.Conclusion:We end by reflecting on the messages for policy and practice that are beginning to emerge from this on-going study.

This study explores the relationships between people living with dementia and their neighbourhood as they venture out from home on a regular and often routine basis. Here, we report findings from the Swedish fieldsite of an international 5-year project: Neighbourhoods: our people, our places. The aims of this study were to investigate the lived experience of the neighbourhood for people with dementia and through this to better understand the meaning that neighbourhood held for the participants. In this study, we focus on the walking interviews which were conducted with 14 community-dwelling people with dementia (11 men and 3 women) and were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological method. Four themes were revealed from these interviews: life narratives embedded within neighbourhood; the support of selfhood and wellbeing through movement; the neighbourhood as an immediate social context; and restorative connections to nature. These themes were distilled into the 'essence' of what neighbourhood meant for the people we interviewed: A walkable area of subjective significance and social opportunity in which to move freely and feel rejuvenated. We have found that the neighbourhood for community-dwelling people with dementia holds a sense of attachment and offers the potential for freedom of movement. Our research indicates that a dementia diagnosis doesn't necessarily reduce this freedom of movement. The implications for practice and policy are considered: future research should explore and pay closer attention to the diverse living conditions of people living with dementia, and not least the particular challenges faced by people living alone with dementia.

Most people with a dementia diagnosis were living in ordinary housing, and, surprisingly, half of those did not receive any type of home care service. This knowledge is essential for making the living conditions and needs of people living with dementia more visible and to provide good home care services for people with dementia and their families.

No abstract

The aim of this study is to identify relevant content for a self-management guide by using the outcomes of previous research in combination with knowledge and experiences from couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia. The study was carried out in three phases: 1) Literature search of previous research related to wellbeing and couplehood in dementia; 2) Interviews with couples with dementia based on the findings of the literature search; 3) Further authentication of the findings within expert groups of people with dementia and carers. For analysis of data we used a hybrid approach of thematic analysis with combined deductive and inductive approaches. The findings of this study indicated that the four main themes "Home and Neighborhood", "Meaningful activities and Relationships", "Approach and Empowerment" and "Couplehood" with related sub themes could be appropriate targets for a self-management guide for couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia.