REPORT: Living with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic: coping and support needs of community-dwelling people with dementia and their family carers. Research findings from the IDEAL COVID-19 Dementia Initiative (IDEAL-CDI)

Background

People with dementia living in the community are likely to be disproportionately affected by
COVID-19 measures (Alzheimer’s Society, 2020a). The Improving the experience of
Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) programme (Clare et al., 2014) has been
following a cohort of people with dementia and carers since 2014, and examining what
enables them to ‘live well’ with the condition. The IDEAL COVID-19 Dementia Initiative
(IDEAL CDI) was established to identify concerns and issues faced by people living with
dementia and their carers as a result of the coronavirus epidemic and the strict social
restrictions imposed in England between March and June 2020. The aim was to provide
timely evidence to inform the development of policy and practice that will better address the
needs of people living with dementia as we continue to live with COVID-19.