What is this study about?Ìý
Psychosocial support for the 850,000 UK adults living with dementia and their carers is critical. We focus on support for five low-prevalent/under-researched types of dementia that are either genetic (autosomal dominantly inherited) or non-memory-led (predominantly affecting language, visual processing or personality).Ìý
Collectively called GNMLD, they directly affect ~115,000 people in the UK (~59,000 people with dementia, 45,000 carers, 11,000 at genetic risk). Compared to ‘typical’ dementias, GNMLDs pose additional challenges, including unusual symptoms, younger onset, and (in genetic dementias) the psychological impact of living at-risk. Consequently, GNMLDs have particularly high neuropsychiatric comorbidities and care costs. However, dementia services are not designed for them and do not meet their needs, while geographical dispersion makes access to specialist care difficult. To address this, we will examine existing psychosocial provision (Improving Access for Psychological Therapy [IAPT] services) and evaluate remotely-provided blended-person/digital interventions we have developed.
Work package 1 aims to understand whether improvement in psychological outcomes after IAPT therapy is associated with reduced non-memory led dementia incidence.Ìý
Work package 2 aims to understand and maximise access to digitally provided interventions.
Work package 3 aims to adapt and implement videoconference-delivered CST for people living with non-memory led dementia, to examine the effectiveness of blended person/digital intervention for carers and those living at risk.Ìý
Contact
ÌýProf. Joshua StottÌýj.stott@ucl.ac.uk
Sponsor
University College London (UCL)
Funder
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research (PGfAR)