'We have different routes for different reasons': Exploring the purpose of walks for carers of people with dementia

Abstract

This paper explores the purpose of walks for co-residing carers of people with dementia, using a social citizenship lens. The findings are based on the first phase of a study examining the everyday experiences of place, space and neighbourhood of dementia carers. Using three forms of data collection - social network mapping, walking interviews, and participant-driven photography – the study brings forth information about why carers go on walks either alone or with the person with dementia. Carers explained that walks facilitate their connections with themselves, the person with dementia, their social environment, and their natural and built environment. In sum, walks provide a way of practicing and sustaining social citizenship. Carers’ discourse about walks highlights their personal, everyday practices and strategies, as well as the larger tensions and contradictions of dementia care. The findings reinforce the need to bring into dialogue, from a carer perspective, a social citizenship model of dementia with the growing interest in dementia-friendly communities.