| 181 7 Participants & Procedures The study draws on semi-structured interviews with informal caregivers of people living with dementia and social care workers, including homecare workers, and occupational therapists involved in the delivery of social care services to people living with dementia. A wide range of purposive and snowballing recruitment strategies were adopted. The recruitment strategies for informal caregivers also specifically focused on underserved communities such as those living in rural locations, areas of high ethnic diversity and areas with social deprivation (38). Recruitment took place via memory clinics, social media, and national carer/dementia organisations (e.g., Alzheimer’s Society, Join Dementia Research, Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project, The UK Network of Dementia Voices), as well as local carers centres, mosques, and outreach services. We recruited social care workers through local authorities and relevant organisations (the UK Homecare Association, Care Provider Alliance, Skills for Care, and the London provider network of homecare providers). Dropout rates and reasons for refusal of potential participants were not recorded. Data collection Potential participants were approached via email, given the study information letter, and invited to contact the researcher for more detailed information. Data were collected between June and November 2022 and were executed according to the Helsinki Declaration (39). Study procedures were approved (UCL Research Ethics Committee ethics project ID 18567-003). Participants provided informed consent orally prior to the commencement of the interview. Interviews were conducted by three researchers, CdL (PhD, research fellow, male), MP (PhD, senior research associate, female) and ML (PhD, research associate, female). All interviewers had post-doctoral training and experience in conducting qualitative research with people living with dementia and their families. ML had personal experience of caring for a relative living with dementia and positive personal experience of using homecare services as an informal caregiver. Interviewers did not have relationships with participants prior to data collection and participants were unaware of the personal reasons of researchers for doing the research. We opted for a remote approach to maximize the reach of participants from diverse areas, including communities underserved in dementia research. Interviews lasted between 30 and 60
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