The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and their community connections: An occupational therapist’s perspective
Abstract
Executive Summary
Current literature discusses how people living with dementia are more likely to experience loneliness
than the rest of the general population (Vedavanam et al. 2020) and can find themselves feeling
socially isolated and detached from community life (Alzheimer Scotland 2012). This risk of social
isolation has been increased even further as self-isolation and social distancing rules were
introduced as a result of COVID-19 (NHS 2020), a highly infectious disease that can cause respiratory
illness and poses threat to life (World Health Organization 2021). These restrictions have impacted
people’s ability to remain connected to their communities, something that is considered crucial to
the wellbeing of people living with dementia. The Alzheimer Scotland 8 Pillar Model of Community
Support (2012) discusses the importance of community connection, and how assisting people living
with dementia to maintain and build on their existing social networks within the community can
enhance their quality of life, sense of belonging and help to maintain maximum independence. If
these community connections are not maintained, it could ultimately lead to significant negative
impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of people living with dementia, and their ability to live
independently (Davies 2020).
A research project was conducted in collaboration with Alzheimer Scotland with the aim to further
explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and their community
connections, from an occupational therapist’s perspective. As described on Alzheimer Scotland’s
official website, “Alzheimer Scotland is Scotland’s national dementia charity. Our aim is to make sure
nobody faces dementia alone. We provide support and information to people with dementia, their
carers and families, we campaign for the rights of people with dementia and fund vital dementia
research” (Alzheimer Scotland 2021, p.1). A generic qualitative design was adopted for the purpose
of the project, and the interpretivist paradigm was implemented throughout. Two conversational
interviews took place with allied healthcare professional leads from Alzheimer Scotland who have a
professional qualification in occupational therapy, and through a general inductive analysis three
themes were identified. These themes focused on understanding:
• The experiences of people living with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to
their community connections.
• The strategies that were beneficial in supporting people living with dementia and their
community connections.
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• How occupational disruption has presented itself in relation to people living with dementia
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The themes, and the discussion surrounding them, emphasises the importance of community-based
occupation and community connection for people living with dementia. In addition, it also highlights
how the social distancing restrictions implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has
disrupted the lives of people living with dementia and has negatively impacted their physical and
mental wellbeing. A conference abstract for the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Congress
2022 conference (2021) further highlighting these findings has been included and can be found in
Appendix A. The abstract guidelines for this conference can be found in Appendix B. However, as the
project was conducted on a small scale and was time-limited, there is scope for further research to
be conducted to provide additional data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living
with dementia and their community connections.