Everyday use of the garden at home by people living with dementia: A multi-site ethnographic study

Dementia is a terminal and neurodegenerative condition for which there is currently no medical cure. There are around 850,000 people with dementia in the UK with around two-thirds living at home: family carers are the mainstay of this living arrangement. The built environment has a measurable impact on quality of life and wellbeing with independence, functionality and the ability to be social being important attributes. Yet, a recent report by Care & Repair England estimates that only 7% of homes include the basic accessible design features that support safe, independent ageing-in-place. Specifically, for people with dementia, the UK Government, in its recent Foresight Review on housing and ageing, found that everyday homes and the technologies within them have not been designed to be both responsive and supportive for those with lived experience, a finding consistent with other studies.

Through in-depth study using sensory and qualitative social research methods, this PhD will work alongside people with dementia, family carers and the CASE partner to report on this phenomenon and inductively develop an initial set of evidence-based design guidelines for further empirical testing and refinement.