LivDem psychosocial intervention delivered in the community by Voluntary Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs) for people living with dementia
Funding
BNSSCG CCG Research Capability Funding (Local development)
What is the research question?
Can the LivDem psychosocial intervention for people living with dementia be adapted and modified to be effectively implemented and delivered in the community by Voluntary Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs)?
What is the problem?
In the UK, around 850,000 people are living with dementia. The provision of post-diagnostic support is not uniform across the country; gaps in service provision often mean people are left to adjust to their diagnosis with little support.
What is the aim of the research?
The Living Well with Dementia (LivDem) course is an evidenced-based psychosocial facilitated 10-week group intervention delivered predominately in person to people living with dementia to help them adjust to their illness. The project aims to investigate how the current package, which is largely delivered by trained NHS staff, can be adapted and modified to be effectively implemented and delivered in the community by Voluntary Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs). Providing LivDem in community care settings through a combination of face-to-face and online formats will enable improved access and choice to people living with dementia and their carers and free up NHS resources to streamline dementia services.
How will this be achieved?
The team intend to identify existing modifications and adaptations to the LivDem model in NHS settings and develop the programme map and initial programme theories. A LivDem course will be piloted in a community setting and data collected will feed back into the programme map and initial programme theories. To strengthen the grant application, the views of commissioners and other stakeholders will be sought about potential barriers and facilitators of scaling out this type of intervention. The proposed NIHR project is a mixed methods realist evaluation and outcomes study of different delivery models of the LivDem course to test why and how LivDem works at the different service model levels.
Who is leading the research?
Dr Emily Dodd, Research Fellow, School of Health and Social Wellbeing, University of the West of England, Bristol.
Further information:
For more information or to get involved in this project, please contact bnssg.research@nhs.net.