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Connecting People, Connecting Support Online

Connecting People, Connecting Support is an online space where people with dementia, family members and care staff can access post-diagnostic materials informed by our research programme Journeying through Dementia.  

Funded by: Research England

Partners: Alzheimer Scotland, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Scottish Dementia Working Group

Team: Claire Craig, Helen Fisher

The web-platform was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which saw many individuals confined to home and unable to access vital services. The website was highly successful in providing a platform through which individuals and their families could access the Journeying through Dementia research and it was found to be a positive way to engage with a wide-number of individuals. Within two months of its launch the materials had been viewed over 30,000 times, and formed the basis of interventions used by the Alzheimer Scotland link workers. The research team was invited to offer a webinar to over 150 Allied Health Professionals about the work and it was cited in the Guardian as an example of best practice in relation to University responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

‘An inspired uplifting place to visit, brimming with a wealth of ideas and information.’ … ‘The site can be used as a tool to improve the knowledge of people who are new to working with dementia as it gives a lot of information and a sense of positivity to cascade to others.’

Kathryn Rawling – Sheffcare

Our clinical support worker has been using the website to focus welfare phone calls for people living alone at home with dementia. They’ve gained quite a rapport from using the topics as themes for their conversations – great work! 

Allied Health Professional

Following the design of the website, a print-at-home version and booklet full of activities was created for those who preferred a tangible resource. The Scottish Dementia Working Group undertook an evaluation of the materials and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  
 
The work had formed the starting point of a broader enquiry, which seeks to build understanding of the design qualities and features that can help people with dementia to meaningfully engage with this technology. The next phase of the work will be to test a series of principles and practices that have been developed in the delivery of a group-work intervention on-line. 

I am amazed at what you have achieved in such a small amount of time. 

Allied Health Professional

Carers don’t have the energy to search for things online so having this all in one place is great… People feel like they’ve won the lottery when they see the website!

Allied Health Professional
10,000 Visits and 60,000 Page Views

In the first year of the website being live (March 2020 – March 2021) it had over 10,000 visits and almost 60,000 page views.

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