Why does diversity matter in dementia care?
Little is known about the dementia experiences and additional challenges faced by communities with multiple identities linked to ethnic background, sexuality, disability and class.
The aim of this project is to address this significant gap in engaging and understanding the needs of diverse communities of people living with dementia and their carers in Wales.
About the project
This research project centres around understanding the different ways in which dementia is experienced by diverse communities across Wales. It aims to contribute to increasing participation and improving dementia services for those communities.
Stigma across cognitive impairment, dementia, and physical disability can be co-occurring and may interact with other forms of stigma related to social identities including race, gender, and sexuality.
Stigma is powerfully experienced by people living with dementia and particularly by those from minority communities, because it can create additional barriers to accessing necessary social and structural supports, which can intensify their experiences of exclusion and invisibility.
Our aims
The aim of this project is to address this significant gap in engaging and understanding the needs of diverse communities of people living with dementia and their carers in Wales.
To achieve this aim, the project will deliver against the following objectives:
- engage people living with dementia, carers and healthcare professionals in face-to-face meetings and online discussions
- disseminate and communicate findings through creative means back to the engaged communities and relevant healthcare providers
- develop a dementia cultural competence toolkit to support the inclusion of diverse communities of people with dementia and carers in research
- use the findings to generate new research project ideas with participating organisations as co-applicants.
