Background: Global initiatives that promote public health responses to dementia
have resulted in numerous countries developing new national policies. Current
policy guidelines in England, for example, recommend that people diagnosed with
mild‐to‐moderate dementia receive information and psychosocial interventions to
improve their ...
Background: Global initiatives that promote public health responses to dementia
have resulted in numerous countries developing new national policies. Current
policy guidelines in England, for example, recommend that people diagnosed with
mild‐to‐moderate dementia receive information and psychosocial interventions to
improve their ability to ‘live well’. However, it remains unclear to what extent these
recommendations are being achieved.
Methods: Self‐reported information from 1537 people living with dementia and
informant‐reported information from 1277 carers of people living with dementia
was used to quantify receipt of community‐based dementia support services,
including health and social care services provided by statutory or voluntary‐sector
organisations, in Britain from 2014 to 2016. Demographic factors associated with
differences in receipt of support services were also investigated to identify
particularly vulnerable groups of people living with dementia.
Results: Both self‐ and informant reports suggested that approximately 50% of
people living with dementia received support services for dementia. Receipt of
support services was lower among people living with dementia who are older, female, and have fewer educational qualifications. Receipt of support services also
differed according to diagnosis and carer status, but was unrelated to marital status.
Conclusions: Limited receipt of dementia support services among people living with
dementia in Britain provides a baseline to assess the efficacy of current policy
guidelines regarding provision of information and support. Targeted efforts to
facilitate receipt of support services among the particularly vulnerable groups
identified in the current study could improve the efficacy of dementia support
services both in Britain and internationally, and should inform policy development.