Read to Care: An Investigation into Quality of Life Benefits of Shared Reading Groups for People Living with Dementia

Investigating the impact that engaging in Shared Reading group activity had on participants with mild to moderate dementia in four care homes across Wirral.

The study paid particular consideration to: the use of powerfully emotional literature to trigger awakenings in people living with dementia; the value of literature in offering emotional experiences too often feared to be 'negative'; the kind of memory that is stimulated by Shared Reading and the additional effect on relatives and carers. Shared Reading was found to significantly improve the quality of life for those living with dementia as well as providing valuable benefit to care workers and relatives in encouragement of remaining human possibilities.

Longden, E., Davis, P., Carroll, J., Billington, J. (2016)