Can individuals with dementia live well in extra care?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can individuals with dementia live well in extra care? An exploration of the practicalities and possibilities.
IRAS ID
207243
Contact name
Katey Twyford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 10 days
Research summary
There is an emerging evidence base on the benefits of extra care housing for individuals, but limited research into its appropriateness for individuals with dementia.
Using published literature and experiences of those involved in delivering or living in extra care schemes, this research will explore the practicalities and possibilities of supporting people with dementia to live well in extra care.Two case study extra care schemes will be used to explore opportunities and barriers in providing appropriate support to people with dementia. The case study project will run for one year, starting September / October 2016.
Four participant groups will be invited to take part; residents and family carers; scheme managers and allocation panel members; housing support and care staff; and commissioners and developers of the schemes.
Separate focus groups will be run with residents, managers and staff to explore the reality of living and working in extra care schemes. Additional research activities to enable residents to best share the lived experience will be agreed jointly at the beginning of the case study.
Interviews with commissioners and developers will explore the findings of published literature and the emerging findings from the focus groups and other activities.
The themes and findings will be shared back with participants in a second series of focus groups to further explore whether individuals with dementia can live well in extra care, and if a best practice model can be described. The final part of the research will involve interviews with key professionals working outside the case studies to establish whether the findings and model are generalisable to other extra care schemes.
The research findings should promote better understanding within the extra care profession of how appropriate extra care is as a model of accommodation and support for individuals with dementia, together with recommendations on best practice.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0326
Date of REC Opinion
13 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion