On 10-11 June, members of the INTEREST (Innovations in diversity and equity in social health research in dementia) project attended a two-day hybrid meeting in Amsterdam. INTEREST is funded by the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), and is looking at the topics of inequity and unmet needs in dementia care in Europe, with a special focus on social health and intersectionality. The group is led by Dr Louise Hopper (Dublin City University) and consists of international experts with interdisciplinary backgrounds. Alzheimer Europe is leading the Public Involvement (PI) activities of the project. During the meeting, researchers leading the different workstreams provided an update on their work and discussed the plans for coming months including the social health framework; the review of unmet needs of people with dementia and carers, of effective psychosocial interventions and use of technology in dementia care; and the policy and communication activities.
The PI activities include face-to-face and online meetings with members of the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD) and European Dementia Carers Working Group (EDCWG). The meeting with members of the EWGPWD already took place in March, in Brussels, and had a focus on unmet needs and health disparities experienced by people with dementia. The meeting with the EDCWG is planned in June, in Luxembourg. Ana Diaz, Public Involvement Lead, attended the meeting on behalf of Alzheimer Europe.