Sites of care need to increase and diversify as more people live with dementia. As they do, they need to be inclusive and accessible for all people with dementia to comply with dementia plans and disability rights. One site of care that continues to expand in certain parts of Europe are social farms (also known as care farms). Research shows that people living with dementia value being on a social farm because it provides a chance to be in nature, enjoy familiar and traditional activities (such as feeding animals and tending to plants) and experience an everyday (rather than a formal care) setting. However, not everyone gets the same chance to use a social farm. We know that more men use the service than women, and the needs of people from black and ethnic minority communities are often overlooked. Further, most social farms are in rural areas, and so people living in deprived urban areas are unable to benefit. This raises a question about whether social farms are an exclusive or inclusive initiative.

In this presentation we present the results of a national survey of social farm managers in England who provide a service to people with dementia. The survey aims to gain a broad understanding of access to social farms, including the demographic profile of people with dementia who currently use this service. We discuss the implications of the results for dementia-inclusive policies and disability rights and reflect on the process of involving people with dementia and family carers in survey design and analysis. The work is part of a larger project, funded by the UK National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) into the accessibility of social farms in England for people living with dementia who live at home.