A socially prescribed community service for people living with dementia and family carers and its long-term effects on well-being

Support services for people with dementia are variable depending on the area or town they live. People with dementia and family carers can often get very little support after a diagnosis. Services might not be suitable or they may not be aware of the service in the first place. The aim of this study was to evaluate a socially prescribed community service provided to people with dementia and family carers offering physical and mental activities. People with dementia and family carers were recruited from a community centre in the North West of England to complete in this study. Participants provided demographic information and completed the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale at baseline, and after 3 and 6 months. Postcode data were used to generate an Index of Multiple Deprivation score for information on participants’ socioeconomic background. Data were analysed using paired samples t-tests to compare well-being scores between baseline and follow-up assessments. A total of 25 people with dementia (n = 14) and family carers (n = 11) participated in the service. Visits ranged from 1 to 36, with 22 and 15 participants completing the 3- and 6-month follow-up respectively. Some reasons for discontinuation were lack of transport and other commitments. Most participants lived in some of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Compared to baseline, well-being was significantly higher at both follow-ups. This is one of the first studies reporting the benefits of a social prescribing service in dementia. Future implementation work needs to design an implementation plan so that the service can be implemented in other community centres across the country.