On 29 February and 1 March, over twenty members of the INTEREST (Innovations in diversity and equity in social health research in dementia) project attended a two-day hybrid meeting to kick-off their work on inequity and unmet needs in dementia care in Europe, with a special focus on social health and intersectionality. Funded by the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), the INTEREST Working Group is led by Dr Louise Hopper (Dublin City University) and consists of international experts with interdisciplinary backgrounds.
Aside from discussing the core frameworks (Social Health Framework, Intersectionality, Inequity), the meeting resulted in a refined primary question and goal of the Working Group: “How can we collaboratively influence the research agenda in Europe so that it prioritises the investigation of multifaceted inequities leading to unmet needs among diverse populations living with dementia and their carers? We will systematically examine these issues through the lens of social health and intersectionality, with an emphasis on the specific mechanisms of policy and tailored interventions including technology.”
To drive these efforts further, the members split into several sub-groups working on:
• Reviewing (unmet) needs, led by Dr Wei Qi Koh (University of Queensland, Australia)
• Gaining a deeper understanding into effective interventions, led by Dr David Neal (Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands)
• Surveying inequities across Europe, led by Adelina Comas (London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom)
• Consulting the European Working Group of People with Dementia as well as European Dementia Caregiver Working Group about lived experiences, led by Dr Ana Diaz (Alzheimer Europe, Luxembourg)
• Communicating to and with audiences from academic, healthcare, policy, industry, and the public, led by Dr Sara Laureen Bartels (Maastricht University, Netherlands).
These groups will collaborate closely with the framework sub-groups, namely:
• Social Health and Intersectionality, co-led by Prof. Marjolein de Vugt (Maastricht University, Netherlands) and Prof. Martina Roes (DZNE, Germany), and
• Inequality, led by Dr Clarissa Giebel (University of Liverpool, United Kingdom).
Following this fruitful kick-off meeting, members are starting the work and will reconvene in June 2024 to discuss progress and first insights. If you are interested in receiving updates from INTEREST, please reach out to Dr Sara Laureen Bartels (sara.bartels@maastrichtuniversity.nl).
