The fragmentation of health and social care for people with dementia and their carers across Europe
Clarissa Giebel

Date and Time

Friday, November 13, 2026, 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Theme / Track

Health, medical and integrated care

Presentation Format

Concurrent

Background: People with dementia and their carers often fail to receive the right care and can be delayed receiving the right diagnosis. A disconnect between health and social care systems and professionals is one of the main reasons. However, it remains unclear how health and social care services fail to connect, and what examples of good practice may support improved care service connectivity more widely. Methods: This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with health and social care professionals, unpaid carers, and people with dementia from eight European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, UK). Data were analysed by six researchers using reflexive thematic analysis guided by the Dementia Inequalities Model as underpinning theory. Results: Eighty-six health (n=22) and social care (n=13) professionals, unpaid carers (n=37) and people with dementia (n=14) participated between October 2025 and February 2026. Five themes were generated: (1) Lack of adequate formal structures of connection; (2) Silo working; (3) Lack of knowledge and awareness; (4) Impacts on unpaid carers and people with dementia; (5) Solutions. There were notable similarities across countries and care infrastructures, including health care professionals often working in silo within their care sector, whilst solutions varied across countries. Solutions included link workers, meeting centres, third sector organisations, and multidisciplinary team working. Conclusions: This is the very first study to have shown care fragmentation in dementia across Europe. Some solutions to support linked up care delivery need to be explored in greater detail, with a potential of adaptation to other country settings.

Keywords

Dementia, Integrated Care

Authors

Megan Readman, University of Liverpool
Marco Brigiano, University of Bologna
Flavia Machado, University of Aveiro
Catherine Talbot, Bournemouth University
Jurate Macijauskiene, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences