Everyday use of the garden at home

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Everyday use of the garden at home by people living with dementia: A multi-site ethnographic study

  • IRAS ID

    314657

  • Contact name

    Rita Newton

  • Contact email

    rita.newton@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    The University of Manchester

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    N/A, N/A

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 5 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    The aim of this PhD study is to develop a year-round, evidenced-based garden design checklist based on the everyday experiences of people living with dementia and their household in using their garden at home. To date there has been no study that explores this phenomenon.

    Over a period of 18 months, up to 15 households (including a person with dementia living at home) will be recruited into the study for a maximum duration of 6 weeks (excluding recruitment). Throughout the study, all contact and data collection methods will be conducted remotely. To achieve this, each recruited household will access their own technology at home and respond to a series of researcher-led ‘show and tell’ interview prompts. For example, in response to the researcher prompt ‘what is your garden at home like?’ participants may decide to take some photographs of objects in the garden and share these with the researcher via a secure link. This elicitation will form the basis of a subsequent on-line interview to further develop and elaborate on the activity. All data on the study will be analysed via reflexive thematic analysis.

    At the end of the time together, the researcher will compile a one-page ‘garden biography’ as a visual reminder about the time together and share this with each household. Working with Care & Repair England and the study participants, the findings will also inform the development of a year-round garden design checklist which will be made available to a wide audience with an interest in improving garden design for people living with dementia.

    The PhD is based at the University of Manchester, with co-supervision from Lancaster University and Care & Repair England. The Economic and Social Research Council fund this CASE PhD studentship.

  • REC name

    Social Care REC

  • REC reference

    22/IEC08/0013

  • Date of REC Opinion

    28 Jul 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion