Living with Dementia Maps

How can research from over 80 scientific papers be distilled into a practical resource? The Living with Dementia Maps are our offer to practitioners, professionals, and commissioners. These free resources take cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from across the six rounds of yearly assessment with the IDEAL cohort and the decade of research which comprised the IDEAL programme and map out those aspects of life which dementia affects, and which are affected by dementia.

The aim is to encourage practitioners, professionals, and commissioners to think more broadly about living with dementia and the myriad ways in which it impacts an individual life, and apply this understanding to planning or delivering services and support. Prompt questions are provided to encourage richer conversations which may more keenly get to the heart of an individual’s experience and help plan personalised care and support.

There are two maps: one shares research evidence gathered from over 1,500 people living with mild-to-moderate dementia; the other shares research evidence gathered from over 1,200 unpaid carers (family members or friends).

Download the maps by clicking on the images below:

Or you can click on these links:

IDEAL Living with Dementia Map for people with dementia

IDEAL Living with Dementia Map for carers

The Living with Dementia Maps were co-developed with a group of commissioners and service providers from across England and we are enormously grateful for their generous input. The largest share of thanks must go to all those who participated in IDEAL, without whose insights none of our resources would exist.

Please note that the maps do not cover everything found to have a statistically significant link with quality of life. Some things cannot be changed, for example socio-economic position. These maps endeavour to promote realistic possibilities for improving the experience of living with dementia, or supporting someone with dementia.