Care homes and long-term care for people with dementia

A significant proportion of people living with dementia will live and stay in long-term care settings. Consequently, care homes have an important role to play in the provision of supportive care for people with dementia. This chapter initially describes the care home context, as this shapes the experiences of living and dying for people with dementia residing in care homes. It draws on two recent studies, both considering the provision of palliative care for people who are living and dying in care homes: one from the UK (Froggatt) and one from Australia (Parker). From this empirical research it identifies two key challenges that face care homes as they support people with dementia living in such settings: how do we, on the one hand, create a culture of openness to people's experiences of living and dying alongside, on the other hand, maintaining people's identities? These both require attention in the care home setting if person-centred supportive care is to be provided throughout a person's life until their death.