Community networks and dementia

Understanding how networks of community members support end-of life care for people affected by dementia: A realist evaluation

Project Summary

To develop an understanding of how a public health approach to palliative care, in the form of compassionate communities, can improve outcomes for people affected by dementia at the end-of-life.

I will use social network analysis in addition to ethnographic methods to provide an in-depth explanation of how communities function to support people affected by dementia at the end-of-life. Naturally occurring communities will be modelled as a complex intervention and subject to a realist evaluation. This will produce a model of care, centred on people’s needs, that better coordinates health and social care with community based support. Findings will be used to provide a template for the development of public health interventions whilst helping to shape end of life care policy for people affected by dementia. 

Selected Publications

Sawyer JM, Sallnow L, Kupeli N, et al. (2019) Social networks, social capital and end-of-life care for people with dementia: a realist review. BMJ Open 2019;9:e030703. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030703