Citizenship and digital social contact around memory assessment v4
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Citizenship and digital social contact adaptation by older people before and after specialist memory assessment.
IRAS ID
263196
Contact name
Rosalind Willis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
This University of Southampton PhD study examines how people aged over 65 living near Southampton, who have memory issues, are impacted in their experiences of citizenship and social contact around the time they receive a dementia diagnosis and how they adapt, within the context of their digital device use. This is important because it affects how much they ‘can get out of life’. Study findings may inform the development of services.
The aim of this study is to find out how older people with dementia adapt their use of digital communication for social contact before and after specialist memory assessment and diagnosis and how adaptation impacts on citizenship. The research questions are:
i). How is the experience of being a citizen affected by the onset of dementia and receiving a diagnosis, and how is this experience of citizenship affected by use of digital devices?
ii). For older people who use digital devices for social contact, how does their use change over the period between pre-diagnosis, diagnosis of dementia and afterwards?
iii). What is the changing perception of the person with dementia of their social contacts and social networks, including with family members, and how is this affected by their use of digital social media and other digital applications? How do they adapt their social networks?Qualitative methods will be used. Semi-structured interviews with about 25 participants, will take place in participants’ own homes or a facility such as a community centre nearby, if they prefer. An initial interview will take place soon after referral by a GP to an Older Persons’ Community Mental Health Team for specialist assessment, with a second interview taking place after diagnosis of dementia and a third approximately four months later. These interviews will take place within a time period of 24 months from the beginning of recruitment.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0249
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion