Living alone with dementia

Welcome

Welcome to our research project on Living alone with dementia: managing without informal support to contact and navigate services.

Image from the Centre for Ageing Better’s Age-positive Image Library

Our aim is to provide recommendations about how to identify people who live alone with dementia and have no informal support, and how to help them plan ahead and access the support they need. We will be developing resources for people living with dementia, providers, commissioners and practitioners.

To find out more please contact us.

  • No assumptions, just relationships

    In this guest blog Jane King, a front line adult social worker and researcher, tells us about the importance of relational practice with people living alone with dementia.  Over the years, the people I work with have taught me that every journey with dementia is unique. Assumptions must not be made about that journey and…

  • We exist

    People can and do live on their own with dementia and without informal support. The Living Alone with Dementia project has co-developed resources that offer advice and guidance to enable this, based on our research. “Society insists you have to be capable, but everyone needs a bit of help.” (Person living alone with dementia) People…

  • “We don’t have back-up brains”

    At one of our recent stakeholder events, people living alone with dementia and without informal support emphasised why there needs to be awareness of and input for people in this situation. “We don’t have back-up brains;” there isn’t someone, who can help with the day-to-day thinking and processing that keeps things ticking along. Whilst many…

  • “I don’t know what I don’t know”

    At our recent webinar for social care providers, two of our project advisors, Michael and Wayne, shared their experiences of living alone with dementia and managing without informal support. They highlighted the importance of having ‘someone to contact’ when things weren’t working as they expected, for example when Michael suddenly couldn’t work out how to…

  • How can we meet the needs of people living alone with dementia?

    September is World Alzheimer’s Month. It is a time to recommit to ensuring that everyone living with dementia can live a fulfilling and dignified life.Our research plays a part in this. We are exploring how to identify and support an often forgotten group – people living alone with dementia, who have no family or friends…