Organizing Social Citizenship for People Living With Dementia: A Community Case Study

This study explores a new clustered social housing concept for older people through the lens of social citizenship for people living with dementia. For people living with dementia citizenship occurs most evidently in the ordinary domestic and community spheres. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, including observations and interviews, our analysis reveals how the design of this concept supports creating care-collectives outside of the often prevalent medical view. A structural interprofessional meeting acts as an institutionalized coordination body which pro-actively monitors, coordinates and shapes collectives for residents to receive care and support and remain engaged with the community. Initiating care-collectives from signals (early changes in residents' functioning and wellbeing) has potential for enacting citizenship for people living with dementia, by situating them in a broader effort to engage with, and be part of a community. However, in the cross-domain collaboration new dilemmas and ethical considerations arise around boundaries of professionals responsibilities, information sharing, and their amount of agency to tailor services for residents.