Making dementia friendly neighbourhoods
11 Dec 2013 A European team of experts led by The University of Manchester will explore, investigate and evaluate the role of the neighbourhood in the everyday lives of people with dementia and their families in a new research project announced during the G8 dementia summit today (11 December). The 'Neighbourhoods and Dementia' study was one of six research projects announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) along with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as part of a £20 million funding boost which will significantly add to the understanding of dementia. Professor John Keady, lead researcher from The University of Manchester, said: "In our five-year study we want to celebrate the achievements, growth and contribution that people with dementia and their carers make to society. There are currently 44 million people in the world living with dementia, and by 2050 this number is set to treble to 135 million. Following on from last year's announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron of plans to tackle the 'national crisis' posed by dementia, the G8 Dementia summit aims to agree what can be done to stimulate greater investment and innovation in dementia research. The Manchester-led project will be the first large-scale research programme to work alongside people with dementia and their families in a variety of roles from advisers to co-researchers. As one of its four work programmes, the research team will develop Neighbourhood Profiles using existing longitudinal databases to provide more accurate estimates of geographical variation in cognitive ageing and service use to inform policy, commissioning and practice.
