Research into alternatives to day centre support for people living with dementia

Dr Gill Toms, Dr Diane Seddon, Professor Rhiannon Tudor-Edwards and Dr Carys Jones from the Bangor Institute of Health and Medical Research and their partners (Person Shaped Support (UK) Ltd) and Shared Lives Plus have secured funding from Health and Care Research Wales for a two-year study to explore an alternative to day centre support for people living with dementia and their families in North Wales. 

The study will explore a community-based service called TRIO provided by Person Shaped Support (UK) Ltd. Implementing the Shared Lives model, people living with dementia are matched with others who share similar interests and they regularly spend time together in the home of a TRIO companion who provides meaningful activities in the local community. The model is based on building genuine relationships between people and keeping people connected with their local community.

The study contributes to the work of the UK wide Short Breaks Research and Practice Development group. This group’s agenda is to undertake meaningful research on the impacts of alternative short breaks. The study will use an economic analysis called Social Return on Investment and the study will help establish the utility of this approach as a method to evaluate community-based models of support. 

Contact point: Dr Diane Seddon Seddon (d.seddon@bangor.ac.uk) or Dr Gill Toms (g.toms@bangor.ac.uk)

Publication date: 28 October 2020