British Academy - Health and social care integration for dementia across Europe

A European network of dementia researchers is surveying health and social care services across countries to map how—or whether—they work together for people with dementia. This matters because dementia care typically involves multiple providers: GPs, memory clinics, social workers, home-help services, and long-term care homes. In most countries, these services operate in silos, leaving patients and families to navigate fragmented systems alone. No one has systematically compared how different European nations integrate—or fail to integrate—these services. The project fills that gap by gathering data from clinicians, policymakers, and patient representatives through surveys and consensus meetings. If successful, the research will produce a Europe-wide map of integration models, highlighting what works and what does not. This could help health systems redesign care pathways so that a dementia diagnosis triggers coordinated support rather than a scramble for services. The findings may influence how national health services commission dementia care, how social care budgets are aligned with medical services, and how training for professionals is standardised. The project does not test a new drug or device—it targets the infrastructure of care delivery itself, which quietly shapes the daily reality for millions of families across Europe.