The Social Care and Support Needs of Adults with Concurrent Dementia and Visual Impairment

Over 100,000 people in the UK have concurrent visual impairment and dementia, resulting in isolation, falls and reduced independence. However, current models of care and support tend to focus on each condition separately, meaning that individual needs are rarely addressed. This can lead to high levels of anxiety and distress as well as placing great demands on carers, highlighting the need for support for informal carers and separate assessment of carer’s needs.
This presentation reports on a new study exploring the lived experience of people with both dementia and visual impairment and the views of professionals. The aim was to investigate how best to provide care and support for adults living with both conditions in a range of housing settings, and develop evidence-based practice guidance to improve social care and support.
26 qualitative face-to-face interviews with people with dementia and sight loss, sometimes with their family carers, were conducted. In addition, focus groups were held involving a total of 47 health, social care and housing professionals, using a semi-structured topic guide developed by the project team. Participants were recruited across three sites in England: the North East, the South West and the Midlands. Each interview and focus group was analysed thematically using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, with emerging themes being compared and discussed by team members in order to validate the findings.
The findings were discussed at a consensus event that included people with dementia and sight loss, family carers and professionals working in housing, health and social care. This led to the development of a set of recommendations for improving social care and support for people with visual impairment and dementia. These include timely diagnosis for both conditions, and a greater focus on holistic care rather than support for one condition over the other.