The IDoService project aims to co-develop tools to make it easier for people living with mild to moderate dementia to connect with relevant groups and to have more opportunities for active participation in meaningful activities. It addresses the need to feel valued for any skills or expertise people might wish to share.
Interviews and focus groups organised during the first year of the project revealed that people are looking for more opportunities to participate in social and cultural activities, to volunteer, or to benefit from one-to-one support to be able to master personal challenges or activities again. A design concept derived from these suggestions and other collected information would be to develop a skills exchange service in Greater Manchester making it easier for people to share their skills by volunteering for others and being supported in return by other volunteers.
The IDoService project has now moved into its second stage where it conducts co-design workshops to work together on the service concept. A first workshop with people living with mild to moderate dementia and care partners was organised at the end of November with the support of Age UK Salford at one of their dementia cafés. Participants were encouraged to bring personal objects related to activities they cherish or would like to practice in (again). Using these objects, over cakes and cups of coffee, the project team discussed their interests and possibilities for the skill exchange service. Following this, three online workshops were organised with staff from charities and organisations related to dementia, service provision and volunteering to discuss volunteering opportunities in Greater Manchester and how to connect people with them.
Further workshops are planned for February 2022, to discuss a more advanced concept of the skills exchange service and its realisation. The objective is to simulate the service concept later in the spring or summer, with interested people living with dementia in Greater Manchester to assess the feasibility of the service as well as various outcomes such as perceived usefulness and usability.
For more information see https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-centres/msarc/projects/idoservice.
For any questions or suggestions contact Dr Isabelle Tournier by email idoservice@mmu.ac.uk or Twitter @idoservice4dem1
