Measuring the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Meeting Centres

About the Project

A Meeting Centre (MC) is a local resource, operating out of ordinary community buildings, that offers on-going warm and friendly expert support to people with mild to moderate dementia and their families. At the heart of the Meeting Centre is a social club where people meet to have fun, talk to others and get help that focuses on what they need. MCs are based on sound research evidence of what helps people to cope well in adjusting to living with the symptoms and changes that dementia brings.

The Meeting Centres UK network, managed by the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester supports local MCs to collect qualitative and quantitative data around the health and well-being of those who attend. This is for self-evaluation purposes, to inform funding bids and to contribute to a national central repository of data. Limited data is collected on the MCs as organisations. The measures relating to the data have not been reviewed for almost ten years and there have been significant socioeconomic changes in the landscape during this period, as well as the impact of COVID. This project will build on previous and existing research and a PhD Studentship on social return on investment. This will enable better understanding of what data commissioners and funders of MCs and similar organisations require and how this can best be met by individual MCs and the MC network as a whole.

A project in this area will incur some additional costs that will be met by the student, for fieldwork and consultation with experts by experience. The exact costs will depend on the specific project and will be discussed both at interview and kept under review throughout the duration of the project

• Director of Studies: Dr Shirley Evans, Association for Dementia Studies, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Worcester
• Supervisors: Dr Mary O’Malley, Association for Dementia Studies, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Worcester
• External Advisor: Dr Michela Tinelli, London School of Economics
• Research Centre: Association for Dementia Studies