School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK.
Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, UK.
Dementia (London). 2024 Aug;23(6):981-1000. doi: 10.1177/14713012241249794. Epub 2024 May 3.
Extra care housing (ECH) is a type of housing with care and support designed to enable older people to age in place. Approximately one fifth of residents living in ECH are living with dementia and yet, there remains gaps as to how best to support people to live well with dementia in the context. ECH stock across the United Kingdom (UK) includes a diverse range of options that can be grouped into integrated, specialist and separated accommodation. Integrated models involve residents with dementia living alongside residents without dementia. Specialist ECH offer accommodation exclusively for people living with dementia. Separated models offer a separate area for residents with dementia within a larger, integrated site. How these different models work for residents living with dementia is little known and has remained a significant gap in knowledge that impairs both professionals and people living with dementia when choosing housing and care. This paper reports on findings from a large study of residents living with dementia in ECH. The focus is on the potential benefits and challenges of different models of provision. Data were generated from interviews with 100 participants (residents, family members, staff, and adult social care professionals) at eight case study sites across England. Findings demonstrated that there are potential benefits and challenges within each model, but the limited diversity of stock limits choice. Multiple variables beyond the model of provision affect the lived experience, meaning that there is no universal model of optimal support. Rather, the approach and resources of each site is more important than the model of provision. Suggestions for future research directions are considered.
特别关怀住房 (ECH) 是一种带有护理和支持的住房,旨在使老年人能够就地安享晚年。大约五分之一居住在 ECH 的居民患有痴呆症,但在如何最好地支持这些人在这种环境中过上幸福的生活方面仍存在差距。英国 (UK) 的 ECH 存量包括各种不同的选择,可以分为综合、专业和分离式住宿。综合模式涉及痴呆症患者与非痴呆症患者共同居住。专门的 ECH 则为仅患有痴呆症的人提供住宿。分离式模式则在更大的综合场所内为患有痴呆症的居民提供单独的区域。这些不同模式对患有痴呆症的居民的影响尚不清楚,这一直是一个重要的知识空白,影响了专业人士和患有痴呆症的居民在选择住房和护理时的决策。本文报告了一项针对 ECH 中患有痴呆症的居民的大型研究的发现。重点是不同供应模式的潜在优势和挑战。数据来自英格兰八个案例研究地点的 100 名参与者(居民、家庭成员、工作人员和成人社会护理专业人员)的访谈。研究结果表明,每种模式都存在潜在的优势和挑战,但存量的多样性有限限制了选择。除了供应模式之外,还有许多其他变量会影响居住体验,这意味着没有普遍适用的最佳支持模式。相反,每个地点的方法和资源比供应模式更为重要。还考虑了未来研究方向的建议。