For anyone interested or involved in providing services or activities for people with dementia, their main concern is for the participants. The activities need to have a positive impact for those involved and the communities they live in, and they need to be sustainable. Proving they have an impact isn’t straightforward, and comparing activities is almost impossible, as local challenges vary considerably. However, if more dementia friendly activities are to flourish and be sustainable, their effectiveness needs to be demonstrated.
This is the aim of a new project, led by the World Dementia Council and involving the Alzheimer’s Society (UK), AARP, the Health and Global Policy Institute in Japan, Alzheimer’s Disease International and the World Health Organization (WHO). The project is seeking to understand the evidence that underpins the impact of dementia friendly initiatives (DFIs).
At the recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Los Angeles, US, the World Dementia Council convened a meeting of global academics, civil society, local organisers, and people affected by dementia to discuss dementia friendly activities, what impact they are aiming to achieve and the challenges of evaluating success.
The challenges of defining “dementia friendliness” and how that shapes what the project aims to measure were on the agenda. Participants also talked about the need for social change such as reducing stigma. They stressed the importance of removing barriers preventing people with dementia from leading active lives. Dementia Friendly Initiatives seek to remove these barriers, to ensure access and decrease isolation.
This prompted discussions on the biggest theme of the meeting, the difference between inclusivity versus the provision of activities that are meeting a specific need of affected people. This theme of inclusion and equality ran throughout the meeting. It was agreed that inclusion is inherently good and that “friendliness” is not the goal but a pathway, or perhaps a sign post on the road to an inclusive society.
If you are involved in the development, delivery or evaluation of initiatives, and would like to contribute to this report, the World Dementia Council would love to hear from you. You can find a survey and information about how to share your views and evidence, at: http://www.worlddementiacouncil.org/
