1. Experiences of people with dementia keeping warm at home during winter.
Ben Thomas, H&W, S001 Chestnut Court Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield Hallam University
Supervisors: Dr Hilary Piercy and Dr Anna Cronin de Chavez
Introduction
It is estimated that 850,000 people have dementia in the UK, rising to 2 million by 2051 (Knap et al. 2014).
18,200 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2013/14 with the majority in the over 65s (ONS, 2014).
The dementia population has recently been cited as being at greater risk of cold related harm than the general old age population (ONS 2014).
People with dementia are around 30% more likely to die between winter than summer months (Liddell et al. 2015).
The reasons for the increased risk of mortality in the dementia population are unknown.
Methodology
A multiple case study design (Yin 2014 and Stake 2006) with the person with dementia at the heart of each case.
Consent was given through a process consent method.
Case structure
Six cases ranging in:
Severity of dementia, from early to late stage.
Gender.
Living situation, i.e. live with a partner or single.
Housing type, i.e. tenure and building type.
Scale of support network.
Preliminary findings
Within the cases there is a large variability in heating patterns, some of which display sustained low temperatures. An example of a night room is below.
= Humidity = Temperature
This PhD aims to explore the experiences people with dementia have of keeping warm at home during winter. Additionally how these experiences relate to the relative risk of harm to morbidity and mortality from exposure to cold at home.
Date ( 2 week period )
Emerging Themes
Initial analysis highlights emerging themes effecting how a person with dementia keeps warm at home include:
Living situation.
Degree of social isolation.
Independence.
Thermal properties of the building.
Financial management.
Heating system use.
Conclusion
Early indications suggest that people with dementia face a variety of behavioural and practical challenges towards keeping warm in winter.
Case data sources
Two Interviews with the person with dementia
Interviews with relevant carers/family
Observations in the particiapnts home
Temperature and Humidity measurments
References
Knap et al. (2014) Liddell et al. (2015). unpublished.
ONS (2014) Stake R. (2006) New York: The Guilford Press.
Yin R. (2014) London: Sage Publishing.