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The place for dementia-friendly communities in England and its relationship with epidemiological need.


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Authors

Arthur, Antony 
Darlington, Nicole 
Buckner, Stefanie 
Killett, Anne 

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The dementia-friendly community (DFC) initiative was set up to enable people living with dementia to remain active, engaged, and valued members of society. Dementia prevalence varies nationally and is strongly associated with the age and sex distribution of the population and level of social deprivation. As part of a wider project to evaluate DFCs, we examined whether there is a relationship between provision of DFCs and epidemiological need. METHODS: Dementia-friendly communities were identified through the formal recognition process of DFC status by the Alzheimer's Society and mapped against areas defined by English Clinical Commissioning Groups. We tested whether provision of a DFC was associated with: (1) dementia prevalence, (2) number of known cases, and (3) known plus estimated number of unknown cases. RESULTS: Of the 209 English Clinical Commissioning Group areas, 115 had at least one DFC. The presence of a DFC was significantly associated with number of known dementia cases (mean difference = 577; 95% CI, 249 to 905; P = 0.001) and unknown dementia cases (mean difference = 881; 95% CI, 349 to 1413; P = 0.001) but not prevalence (mean difference = 0.03; 95% CI, -0.09 to 0.16; P = 0.61). This remains true when controlling for potential confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that DFC provision is consistent with epidemiological-based need. Dementia-friendly communities are located in areas where they can have the greatest impact. A retrospective understanding of how DFCs have developed in England can inform how equivalent international initiatives might be designed and implemented.

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Keywords

dementia-friendly community, epidemiological need, mapping, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Community Health Services, Dementia, England, Female, Health Services Needs and Demand, Humans, Logistic Models, Male, Prevalence, Retrospective Studies

Journal Title

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0885-6230
1099-1166

Volume Title

34

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Department of Health (via University of Hertfordshire) (PR-R15-0116-21003)
NIHR Policy Research Programme, PR-R15-0116-21003