How living through COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown affected physical and mental well being for people with dementia

Budding Friends (Exeter)

The group explored how the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns had affected the physical and mental wellbeing of people with dementia. They interviewed people with dementia from the group, people with dementia from the local community, carers whose partners were in residential care and carers whose partners had died, some during the pandemic.

People with dementia described boredom, anxiety, isolation and deterioration of cognitive and physical abilities. Carers expressed a lot of distress, especially if their partner was in a care home. Visiting was minimal, and there were limited opportunities for true engagement. Carers felt that, if their partner has still been living at home, the decline would not have been so great.