In late October 2023, a new book called "Reconsidering Neighbourhoods and Living with Dementia: spaces, places and people" was published, edited by Professor John Keady at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). It was launched at an event on 28 October, at the Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, UK. The book celebrates the main study outputs of the five-year "Neighbourhoods study" that took place in the UK and Sweden between 2014 and 2019.
The study was funded by two research councils in the UK, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and Jean Georges, Executive Director, Alzheimer Europe, was a member of the International Scientific Committee of the Neighbourhoods study throughout its duration. He wrote one of the two forewords in the book and in his reflection of his time spent on the study, he shared: I sincerely hope that the findings and results will be studied by other researchers and taken up and implemented by local politicians and administrations interested in improving the lives of people with dementia in their neighbourhoods. Over its 13 chapters, "Reconsidering Neighbourhoods and Living with Dementia" brings together: the key findings of all eight work programmes that comprised the Neighbourhoods study; the main outcomes of the four PhD studies (all completed) that were attached to the programme of work; and a conversational chapter on large-scale project administration which is largely under-reported in dementia studies.
The book is divided into five parts and people living with dementia were closely aligned to the Neighbourhoods study through advocacy groups such as the Scottish Dementia Working Group and the Open Doors Research Group in Salford, Greater Manchester. The book contains a wide range of approaches to better understanding the experience of living with dementia in the neighbourhood, including the use of Big Data sets and creative social research methods such as walking interviews, social network mapping and the co-production of films and animations by people living with dementia. This range of approaches is illustrated throughout the book. The book is also part of a new series called "Reconsidering Dementia" edited on behalf of the Open University Press/McGraw-Hill by Dr Keith Oliver and Professor Dawn Brooker MBE. Full details of the new Book: Reconsidering Neighbourhoods and Living with Dementia: spaces, places and people (John Keady, Editor). Open University Press/McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead, UK. ISBN-13: 9780335251728. Book ordering link:
Pictured: The book launch at the Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, UK. Pictured are the Editor (in the brown jacket) and some of the authors whose work is featured in the book.