Family beliefs about dementia in Black ethnic minority communities v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Dementia: an investigation of illness beliefs reported by family carers from Black ethnic minority communities
IRAS ID
290392
Contact name
Juliana Onwumere
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Dementia is a clinical syndrome caused by a neurodegenerative condition or disease in the brain, such as Alzheimer’s disease. It is characterised by global cognitive impairment and represents a significant decline in an individual’s previous cognitive and functional ability. In the UK there are estimated to be more than 850,000 people living with dementia, and around two thirds of this population live in the community. Dementia is a major cause of disability and has a huge impact, not only on the person living with the diagnosis, but also on their families and friends, who are often their main source of support and care. This is especially true for people from ethnic minority groups, who are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia at a later stage of the condition or not at all. Research shows that Black ethnic minorities (that is people commonly described as being of Black African, Caribbean, British or any other Black background) are more likely to develop dementia than people from all other ethnic groups, but they often have less access to specialist support. This study will focus on the experiences of Black family carers of people with dementia. This is because there is evidence that family carers (such as partners, siblings, adult children) from this group also find it more difficult to receive the support they need, but the existing research in this area is small. The purpose of this study is to find out how carers from this group make sense of and understand dementia in a relative, and whether their reported beliefs about of dementia relate to their wellbeing and how they cope.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0127
Date of REC Opinion
27 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion