Engaging With a Community of Practice in Dementia: Impacts on Skills, Knowledge, Networks and Accessing Support.

Background: To deliver implementable, meaningful research and advance knowledge, different stakeholders need to be brought together regularly via a suitable platform or community of practice. The Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, set up in 2019, is a public/professional community of practice, providing in-person and remote events and activities to connect people living with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care professionals, Third Sector representatives and commissioners. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences and impacts of engaging with Forum events by different stakeholders.

The impact of game play on dementia knowledge: A student evaluation of the Dementia Inequalities Game.

People with dementia and carers can face many barriers, or inequalities, in accessing a diagnosis or care. These barriers are unjust and can be addressed by the right interventions, to ensure that everyone receives equitable access to diagnosis and care. A lack of knowledge about dementia in the health and social care workforce is a recognised barrier.

"Necessity is the mother of invention": Experiences of accessing and delivering dementia-related support services by information communication technology during the pandemic in the UK.

Introduction: The remote delivery of dementia-related support services by information communication technology, defined as any hardware or software, including the telephone and videoconferencing software, increased during the coronavirus pandemic. To guide the future use of information communication technology, this study explored the experiences of delivering and accessing social care and support services during the pandemic in the UK.

Method: Remote semi-structured interviews with social care and support providers, people with dementia and family carers were conducted between May-December 2022.

Co-producing a board game to learn and engage about dementia inequalities: First impacts on knowledge in the general population.

Background: Receiving and accessing care after a diagnosis of dementia, both for the person and their carer, are fraught with inequalities. The aim of this public engagement activity was to co-produce a board game about dementia inequalities to facilitate learning, dialogue and educate about different barriers, and facilitators, to diagnosis and care and to test the game's impact on dementia knowledge with the general public.

Methods: Two virtual and two face-to-face workshops with people with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care professionals and Third Sector representatives were held between October 2022 and June 2023.

A systematic review of digital access to post-diagnostic health and social care services for dementia.

Objectives: For many people with dementia and unpaid carers, using technology for care and support has become essential. Rapid proliferation of technology highlights the need to understand digital access to health and social care services for dementia. This mixed-methods systematic review aims to explore digital access to health and social care services for dementia, from the perspective of people with dementia and unpaid carers.

Dementia care navigation: A systematic review on different service types and their prevalence.

Background: Dementia Care Navigators (DCNs) are professionals without clinical training, who provide individualised emotional and practical support to people living with dementia, working alongside clinical services. Navigator services have been implemented but the service offered vary without a consistent overview provided. The aim of this narrative systematic review was to describe and compare existing service formats, and to synthesise evidence regarding their implementation and impacts.

A Community of Practice to increase education and collaboration in dementia and ageing research and care: The Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum.

Background: Too often, dementia research is conducted in research silos without thorough integration and the involvement of people with lived experiences, care professionals and the Third Sector. Research can also get lost in academic publications, without reaching those benefiting most from the evidence. The aim of this methods and evaluation paper was to outline the aims, components and evaluation of the public-facing and -engaging Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, to provide a blueprint for setting up similar communities of practice.

Social support services for dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal survey exploring service adaptations in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: To understand how the delivery of dementia-related social support services across the UK adapted during the pandemic.

Methods: We devised a two-part online and telephone longitudinal survey. Providers participated between March and June 2021, and again 3 months later.

Exploring the views and the use of information and communication technologies to access post-diagnostic support by people living with dementia and unpaid carers: a systematic review.

Objectives: This systematic review examined how information communication technologies (ICT) has been used to access remote post-diagnostic support that address the needs people with dementia, or those of dyad, and explored care recipients' views on accessing support remotely.

Method: Concepts relating to dementia and ICT were searched across six databases (PsychInfo, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Social Care Online, and Web of Science) in March 2021 and updated in March 2022. Studies published from 1990 and written in English, German or French were considered for inclusion.

Use of technology by people with dementia and informal carers during COVID-19: A cross-country comparison.

Objectives: Considering the adverse outcomes of COVID-19, it is essential to provide adequate support and care for people with dementia and informal carers. Technology can reduce the distress associated with social distancing rules and the decreased access to in-person services. This study aimed to explore the use of technology and its perceived effects across different settings and countries.

The early impacts of COVID-19 on unpaid carers of people living with dementia: part II of a mixed-methods systematic review.

Objectives: With a lack of existing comprehensive reviews, the aim of this mixed-method systematic review was to synthesise the evidence on the early impacts of the pandemic on unpaid dementia carers across the globe.

Methods: This review was registered on PROSPERO [CDR42021248050]. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from 2020 to July 2021.

The early impacts of COVID-19 on people living with dementia: part I of a mixed-methods systematic review.

The aim of this Part I systematic review was to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of people with dementia living in the community or in residential care. Part II focused on unpaid carers. This review was registered on PROSPERO [CRD42021248050].

Developing a Meaningful Garden Space in a Care Home with Staff and Family Members: A Qualitative Study.

Care home residents are often passive and lack active engagement in meaningful activities. The aim of this qualitative study was to co-develop a plan for a meaningful garden space in an urban care home in the north of England, to inform the subsequent building of such a garden space on the care home premises. Members of staff participated in focus groups conducted at the care home.

End of life care in UK care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Purpose: To report the experiences of End of Life (EoL) care in UK care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: UK care home staff and family carers of residents in care home took part in remote, semi-structured interviews from October to November 2020, with 20 participants followed-up in March 2021. Interviews were conducted via telephone or online platforms and qualitatively analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Guilt, tears and burnout-Impact of UK care home restrictions on the mental well-being of staff, families and residents.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the pandemic on the emotional and mental well-being of family carers, care home staff and residents, in light of changing restrictions, increased testing and vaccination rollout in the UK.

Design: Longitudinal, qualitative semi-structured interview study.

Methods: Remote semi-structured interviews were conducted with family carers of care home residents with dementia and care home staff from different care homes across the UK.

Working in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic: How has the pandemic changed working practices? A qualitative study.

Background: The pandemic has significantly affected care homes' residents and families through the national visiting restrictions. However, less is known on the impact these changes have had on the care home workforce. The aim of this research was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the working practices of care home staff, caring for people living with dementia.

A qualitative 5-country comparison of the perceived impacts of COVID-19 on people living with dementia and unpaid carers.

Background: Emerging evidence shows an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and informal carers, without any evidence-based global comparison to date. The aim of this international study was to explore and compare the perceived impact of COVID-19 and associated public health restrictions on the lives of people living with dementia and informal carers and access to dementia care across five countries.

Methods: Informal carers and people living with dementia who were residing in the community in the UK, Australia, Italy, India, and Poland were interviewed remotely between April and December 2020.

Are we allowed to visit now? Concerns and issues surrounding vaccination and infection risks in UK care homes during COVID-19.

Background: vaccination uptake in the UK and increased care home testing are likely affecting care home visitation. With scant scientific evidence to date, the aim of this longitudinal qualitative study was to explore the impact of both (vaccination and testing) on the conduct and experiences of care home visits.

Methods: family carers of care home residents with dementia and care home staff from across the UK took part in baseline (October/November 2020) and follow-up interviews (March 2021).

Taking the 'care' out of care homes: The moral dilemma of institutional long-term care provision during COVID-19.

Little is known on how the pandemic has changed care home care delivery. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on care provision and visits in care homes from staff and family members' perspectives. For this purpose, we conducted a telephone- and zoom-based qualitative semi-structured interview study.

Resilience and supporting people living with dementia during the time of COVID-19; A qualitative study.

Objectives: To explore the different factors of resilience for people living with dementia and unpaid carers, in response to sudden changes in care and lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Unpaid carers and people living with dementia were offered telephone interviews in April 2020 to discuss their experiences since the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were asked about the benefits and challenges of accessing dementia support, as well as coping, symptoms, strategies and impacts.

Navigating the new normal: accessing community and institutionalised care for dementia during COVID-19.

Objectives: Little is known about how community services and institutional care settings have adapted to providing support since the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to explore how these care services have adapted during the pandemic in the UK and are providing care to people living with dementia (PLWD) and carers.

Method: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in June and July 2020 with 16 purposefully sampled unpaid dementia carers.

The potential dangers of not understanding COVID-19 public health restrictions in dementia: "It's a groundhog day - every single day she does not understand why she can't go out for a walk".

Background: Sudden public health restrictions can be difficult to comprehend for people with cognitive deficits. However, these are even more important for them to adhere to due to their increased levels of vulnerability, particularly to COVID-19. With a lack of previous evidence, we explored the understanding and changes in adherence to COVID-19 public health restrictions over time in people living with dementia (PLWD).

"A piece of paper is not the same as having someone to talk to": accessing post-diagnostic dementia care before and since COVID-19 and associated inequalities.

Background: Social support services such as day care centres are important in post-diagnostic dementia care to enable people living with dementia stay at home for longer. Little research has addressed potential inequalities in access, with no research on variations before and since COVID-19. The aim of this study was to explore inequalities in social support service usage before and since the pandemic.

Emotional and Mental Wellbeing Following COVID-19 Public Health Measures on People Living With Dementia and Carers.

Background: To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers.

Method: Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020.

COVID-19-related social support service closures and mental well-being in older adults and those affected by dementia: a UK longitudinal survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on delivery of social support services. This might be expected to particularly affect older adults and people living with dementia (PLWD), and to reduce their well-being.

Aims: To explore how social support service use by older adults, carers and PLWD, and their mental well-being changed over the first 3 months since the pandemic outbreak.