Understanding everyday agency in older people with dementia V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the 'agency-structure' dynamic in the everyday activities of older people with dementia living at home in an urban setting
IRAS ID
165441
Contact name
Karen Barrie
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 27 days
Research summary
Across the UK and more broadly there is an expectation that people diagnosed with dementia will remain at home for as long as possible. This study considers how older people living with dementia might not simply 'remain' at home, but 'live well' at home and in their local communities. Combining critical theory with an ethnographic approach, it aims to:
1. Develop a better understanding of how older people with dementia, with diverse circumstances, negotiate participation in the everyday activities that matter to them;
2. Understand the forms that 'agency'(loosely defined as the capacity to act in a social context) takes and how it is fostered and contained;
3. Examine individual experiences in relation to the immediate and broader social and cultural contexts in which they take place;
4. Consider the extent to which the ways that older people with dementia are enabled to live positive lives are reflected within current policy, and might shape future public policy.
Achieving these aims requires attending to the unfolding nature of people’s everyday experiences in real-time. 9-12 older people with dementia will each participate in five data generating sessions over a six-month period using methods that seek to fit in with their daily lives and preferences, and that emphasise enacting rather than telling. Specifically, three data creation sessions will use an approach which requires the researcher to follow the flow of whatever everyday activities are initiated by the participant. These will be interspersed with two participant observation sessions in a social setting or at an event that holds more significance for the person.
The study seeks to build upon current theoretical understandings of dementia and to inform future policy, contributing to the larger task of combating social exclusion and sustaining the citizenship of older people with dementia.REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
15/SS/0076
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion