Dementia and limited mobility are driving factors in homeshare arrangements
The largest homeshare organisation in the UK has released its annual report looking into how the establishments support older people and the factors driving an increase in arrangements.
According to the report, which was created by Community Interest Company (CIC), Share and Care Homeshare, shows the primary driver for homeshare is memory issues with 35% of householders living with dementia or other memory loss, closely followed by poor mobility, which accounts for 30% of arrangements.
What’s more, other drivers for homeshare include Parkinson’s disease, sight issues, heart conditions, anxiety, loneliness, arthritis and being at risk of falls. Researchers found that there is often more than one driver for seeking a homeshare arrangement.
In addition, experts also revealed that living in a homeshare can reduce the number of falls an individual might have – of the 40% of householders citing ‘falls risk’ as one of their drivers to homeshare, only 10% had a fall once they had a sharer living with them.
Living in a homeshare could help relieve some NHS pressures because if people are having less falls, they won’t have to visit their GP or hospital as frequently.
‘The findings from the Share and Care Homeshare 2024 report further highlight the incredible positive impact of homeshare arrangements on older people,’ said Caroline Cooke, founder of Share and Care Homeshare. ‘As our report illustrates, homeshare supports many older people to live fulfilling and independent lives in the comfort of their own home, and people living with dementia or limited mobility are the biggest users of our service.’
According to the findings, the average age of a householder is 85, and the oldest is 96, while the average age of a sharer is 42. 77% of older people in homeshare arrangements are female, 18% male and 5% are couples.
The average duration of a homeshare arrangement is 12 months and the longest current match with the same sharer is in its 5th year.
Image: Tatiana Zanon
How homeshare transforms the lives of people with dementia and poor mobility
