Final Year Research - Mental Wellbeing Of Dementia Caregivers Living In Rural Devon
My name is Kate Parkin, and I’m in my final year at the University of Plymouth studying Psychology. Through both my degree and personal experiences, I’ve developed a strong passion for supporting people in the community who are living with dementia. Last year, I took a break from the usual academic routine to complete a placement year as a research intern at the Plymouth Science Park with Ian Sherriff and his colleagues. During this time, I investigated rural dementia-friendly communities across England, a project that has now been completed and is awaiting publication! I also gave a summary of some of my research at the South Hams Dementia Forum in July 2025 and highlighted in the 4RDA News Page. I’m now back for my final year and excited to be starting my dissertation project.My project aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental wellbeing of dementia caregivers living in rural Devon, with a particular focus on how changes in formal and informal support networks have shaped their experiences. Prior research has highlighted that limited access to healthcare and community support in rural settings can intensify caregiver stress and isolation (Mogan et al., 2024; Zahed, 2020; Koyama et al., 2017). These challenges were amplified during the pandemic, as restrictions disrupted both professional and community-based support systems (Manca et al., 2022).
While national studies have explored the pandemic’s broad impact on dementia care, few have examined its effects within the specific rural context of Southwest England, where service provision and social connectedness are often constrained. This research therefore aims to address that gap through a focus on caregivers in rural Devon.
The idea is to use a focus group method to capture descriptions about the experiences of caregiver’s, their coping strategies, perceived changes in support, and what could be done to help. As well as this, I hope to also use questionnaires to understand caregiver’s mental wellbeing and their access to formal (health and social care services) and informal (family, peer, and community) support before, during, and after the pandemic.
At the last South Hams Dementia Forum, I delighted to hear the enthusiasm from those attending fin helping me with this project and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we shall learn.
If you are reading this article and you can assist me with this project but would like to know more detail, I can be contacted through 4RDA using the following email address in the first instance:
enquiries@4riversdementia.org.uk
Please include your name, telephone number and email address and I will follow up with you.
Thank you.
27th October 2025