Driving change through evidence-based research
Dementia affects millions of lives across the UK, with profound implications for individuals, families, and society as a whole. At CF, we’re committed to generating the robust evidence needed to shape policy, influence decision-makers, and drive meaningful change in how we approach dementia care and support.
Dementia is a planning question for every health system, not only a clinical one.
The number of people living affected by dementia is rising and the effects reach far past the person diagnosed. Cost climbs sharply as dementia progresses, and the driver is not just NHS treatment. It is the social care and unpaid care that families absorb as cognitive function declines, most of it falling on family and carers.
That is also where the opportunity sits. Anything that delays progression, or brings diagnosis forward, bends the cost curve rather than moving cost between budgets. Three things stand in the way.
How CF works in this area
Dementia is still treated as inevitable, as does the economics that follow. That is roughly where cancer sat 40 years ago, before screening and the treatments that followed.
The same assumption shapes how dementia gets valued. When most of the cost falls on families rather than on a budget line, the formal system under-counts it. Our work with Alzheimer’s Society put a number on that hidden cost for the first time using patient-level data. Most of what dementia costs never appears in an NHS budget. Decisions that only count NHS spend are working from a fraction of the picture.
Our approach to dementia research combines rigorous methodology with compelling storytelling. We understand that behind every statistic is a human story, and our work bridges the gap between complex healthcare data and the lived experiences of those affected by dementia. We’ve partnered with organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society to provide critical insights into the costs, challenges, and urgent need for policy intervention in the dementia landscape.
Our work bridges complex healthcare data and the lived experience of dementia. Four CF capabilities combine on most of it:
Data, digital and real-world evidence
Policy and influencing
Improving patient access across health systems
Building healthcare partnerships
Our reports
Our dementia work is built on linked, record-level patient data rather than survey estimates, showing how people with dementia actually use health and care services.
Recent insights
Building on the success of our landmark report with the Alzheimer’s Society, we continue to evolve our research, exploring new findings and emerging areas of concern within the dementia landscape.
Our research in the news
Our expert team
Our expert dementia team combines deep clinical knowledge with advanced research methodologies, bringing together specialists in health economics, policy analysis, and dementia care pathways. This multidisciplinary expertise enables us to tackle the complex challenges of dementia research from multiple angles, ensuring our findings are practically applicable to real-world policy decisions.
To speak to one of our specialists about our work on Dementia, contact us today or email us at [email protected].
