Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Marie PooleORCiD, Dr Louise Robinson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 The Author(s). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Background: Accessing a diagnosis and receiving adequate care and support for dementia can often be subject to various inequalities. Personal-, community-, and infrastructure-level factors can contribute to and often intersect in causing unequal health and care outcomes. With a paucity of evidence to inform solutions for dementia inequalities, the aim of this public consultation exercise was to explore potential solutions to inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care with different dementia stakeholders. Methods: Utilising a future workshop approach, we conducted 11 in-person and remote consultation workshops to discuss experienced barriers of accessing diagnosis and care; discuss an ideal-world scenario where no barriers exist; and solutions to reach more equitable dementia diagnosis and care with people with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care professionals, and third sector representatives. Discussions were synthesised by the research team and one public consultation group and mapped against the Dementia Inequalities model. Results: A total of 131 different stakeholders in dementia attended 11 workshops across England. Solutions were identified across three layers of inequalities, with the majority of solutions proposed on a community and infrastructure level. Examples included link workers, a social care career pathway, Community Champions, adequate home equipment, and digital training. Some solutions require Governmental input, such as creating career pathways in the social care workforce, similar to the NHS, to train and maintain good paid carers, as well as a cross-UK national dementia strategy raising the priority of dementia and required changes. Conclusions: Dementia inequalities could be addressed via diverse and holistic approaches. With limited evidence to date on the impact of some of the proposed solutions, future research needs to build on these recommendations and design and test suitable interventions.
Author(s): Giebel C, Poole M, Talbot C, Chadborn N, Brookes N, Samsi K, Clarkson P, Cannon J, Gabbay M, Hanna K, Komuravelli A, Rozansky D, Tetlow H, Walpert M, Whittington R, Williams E, Robinson L
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Year: 2026
Volume: 41
Issue: 3
Print publication date: 01/03/2026
Online publication date: 26/02/2026
Acceptance date: 17/02/2026
Date deposited: 09/03/2026
ISSN (print): 0885-6230
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1166
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.70198
DOI: 10.1002/gps.70198
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
PubMed id: 41744366
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
