A new project looking at Dementia in farming has been announced. It will begin as a pilot study in Devon and will investigate how farmers, their families and carers cope when they are affected by dementia.
There are three main objectives – to consider the impact of dementia on farming businesses; to evaluate how dementia affects farming families and communities and to consider how voluntary and state agencies can support farming families with dementia.
This is the first project of its kind to focus specifically on farming communities and dementia. The research will be carried out by Dr Richard Yarwood and Dr Claire Kelly from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at Plymouth University, with funding from the Seale Hayne Educational Trust.
Dr Yarwood said: “This project is a starting point and we hope that it will be useful to care agencies and provide support for farming families affected by dementia.” The research team is interested in talking to farmers who have a family member suffering from dementia. Contacts are r.yarwood@plymouth.ac.uk and claire.kelly@plymouth.ac.uk