The place for Dementia Friendly Communities in England and its relationship with epidemiological need

Abstract

Objectives The Dementia Friendly Community initiative was set up to enable people living with dementia to remain active, engaged and valued members of society. Dementia prevalence varies nationally and is strongly associated with the age and sex distribution of the population and level of social deprivation. As part of a wider project to evaluate dementia friendly communities (DFCs), we examined whether there is a relationship between provision of DFCs and epidemiological need. Methods DFCs were identified through the formal recognition process of DFC status by the Alzheimer’s Society and mapped against areas defined by English Clinical Commissioning Groups. We tested whether provision of a DFC was associated with: (1) dementia prevalence; (2) number of known cases; and (3) known plus estimated number of unknown cases. Results Of the 209 English Clinical Commissioning Group areas, 115 had at least one dementia friendly community. The presence of a DFC was significantly associated with number of known dementia cases (mean difference= -577, 95%CI= -905 to -249, p=0.001) and unknown dementia cases (mean difference=-881, 95%CI= -1413 to -349, p=0.001) but not prevalence (mean difference=0.03, 95% CI= -0.09 to 0.16, p=0.61). This remains true when controlling for potential confounding variables. Conclusions Our findings suggest that DFC provision is consistent with epidemiological based need. DFCs are located in areas when they can have the greatest impact. A retrospective understanding of how DFCs have developed in England can inform how equivalent international initiatives might be designed and implemented