research report

Building dementia-friendly communities: a priority for everyone

Report that provides evidence on dementia-friendly communities from the perspective of people affected by dementia and their carers. It explores the barriers that people face in their community, how they would like to be engaged with their local area and the support they need to do so.

It also collates existing evidence and describes projects that are already making a difference for people with dementia. This information is used both to provide a definition of a dementia-friendly community, and to lay out 10 areas of focus for communities working to become dementia friendly.

Evaluating participation: a guide and toolkit for health and social care practitioners

Tool for supporting the evaluation of public involvement and participation in health services. A partner to the Participation Toolkit, it is a stand-alone guide for assessing the way in which a participation project has been undertaken (process) and the results of that activity (outcomes). It does not set out to be a definitive guide to evaluation, but aims to provide resources, references and tools to help people develop their own approach to evaluation.

The guide will:

Strengthening food work across ethnic minority communities: a focus on maternal and infant nutrition

A small-scale study designed to provide a snapshot of voluntary and community organisations' activity in relation to maternal and infant nutrition across ethnic minority (EM) communities in Scotland.

The study was designed to provide some basic information about levels of activity, services offered and resources used to support this work. It looked for the major constraints and barriers that organisations face in working in this area and also their future learning and development needs.

Carers and personalisation: what roles do carers play in personalised adult social care?

The Social Policy Research Unit examined how current English adult social care practice balances the interests of service users and family carers, in assessment, planning, on-going management and reviews of personal budgets, particularly when budget-holders have cognitive or communication impairments.

The study examined senior local authority perspectives, everyday practice by frontline staff and experiences of service users and carers.

Housing with care for older people

Report that showcases a number of housing with care models that have improved the health and well-being of older people, all of which are in the social sector. It builds on the experiential knowledge of housing staff involved in the running, or the strategic planning of housing with care, to offer insights into some of the issues, challenges, and risks surrounding the development and ongoing management of housing with care that others may learn from.