Social exclusion and use of care services in Wales: experiences of people with cognitive impairment and dementia

Current forecasts suggest that the number of people with dementia in Wales is increasing, resulting in greater need for health and social care support for people with dementia and their carers.

A key challenge for service providers and planners is how to manage this increasing demand on services, particularly community based services, whilst continuing to provide the support and assistance people with dementia and their carers need to ensure a good quality of life. In order to effectively plan service provision it is important to understand current need and use of services.

This research aims to gain a greater understanding of the current health and social care service needs of people with dementia, those with cognitive impairment, and carers in Wales, and how these groups currently use and access services.

Using secondary data analysis of a large population based survey of people aged 65 years and over, this work will examine how health and social care services are currently being used by people with cognitive impairment in North and South Wales, how accessible services are, and whether or not people's everyday needs are being met.

The research will also examine possible factors that mediate the relationship between cognitive impairment and service use, including factors of environment, social support and personality.

New primary qualitative data will be collected, supplementing existing data, to explore how people with dementia, their carers, and people with mild cognitive impairment define and act on their needs, how supported they feel by existing networks (professional, community and social), and whether these differ from those without a cognitive impairment.

This work will draw out detail about why people are/are not using or accessing services, and what support or information they may be missing. These findings will be used to inform a series of recommendations for service commissioners and providers, regarding possible strengths, weaknesses and gaps in current service provision, as well as possible future service needs.

The ultimate aim of this research is to assist in the planning and improvement of care and support services for people with dementia and their carers, and consequently improve user well-being.