Living with Dementia September 2008

By Caroline Graty

An award-winning support project in Bradford is breaking down barriers for people with dementia in South Asian communities.

When Bradford-based project Meri Yaadain was established in 2006, it faced a challenge. How could it reach families affected by dementia whose language does not even have a word for the illness?

The Meri Yaadain (Urdu for 'my memories') project is managed by Bradford Council's Older People's Services and works in partnership with Bradford and Airedale PCT and the local branches of Alzheimer's Society and Age Concern. Its aim is to raise awareness of dementia among Bradford's South Asian communities and encourage people with dementia and carers to access information, support and services.

Akhlak Rauf is Project Manager of Meri Yaadain. He says,

We knew from population demographics that many older people from South Asian communities weren't coming forward for help.

Consultation with community groups revealed a variety of reasons for this. Some people had no concept of dementia, and thought of memory loss as an inevitable result of old age. As a result of the stigma attached to mental health issues, families were reluctant to admit they had a relative with memory problems. The strong sense of family duty to care for older relatives was also a factor; people did not want to seem unable to cope.

Meri Yaadain set out to break down these barriers. It needed to find a way to communicate the project's message to people from a diverse mix of cultures, languages and faiths.

Akhlak says,

We couldn't take the word dementia out to communities because how could we talk about an illness that people have no concept of?

The symptoms were the key, so we linked it with memory loss and talked about memories rather than mental health. That's why we chose the name Meri Yaadain, meaning 'my memories' as it is recognisable across several other South Asian languages.

Spreading the word
Meri Yaadain has developed a range of ways to spread the word about dementia. Its roadshows visit community groups to build trust and raise awareness of dementia. Akhlak says,

We start off speaking generally about things by talking about how older people in families might feel.

We try to bring humour in and gradually people open up and say, 'My mother-in-law's behaving like this', or 'My wife has started doing such and such'. It gets the ball rolling and then people have the confidence to open up. When we have a receptive audience, we invite speakers to talk about mental health and issues affecting older people.

The project also broadcasts its message on community language radio stations and through printed posters and leaflets. These are produced in South Asian languages and in English. It is often younger, English-speaking family members who pick up the leaflets and encourage their parents or relatives to seek help.

Meri Yaadain also offers practical support. Project workers visit people with dementia and their families at home to make an assessment and give them advice about the services that are available. They act as advocates, ensuring that health and social services meet people's cultural and language needs.

At the project's monthly support group, people with dementia and carers come together to hear speakers talk about practical topics such as benefits, respite and home care and health issues, and also take part in culturally appropriate activities. These include fruit bingo, which uses pictures of Asian foods such as mangoes, coriander and aubergines instead of numbers.

Carer Mehrban Khan and his mother, who has dementia, are two regular support group members. Mehrban took on the caring role three years ago. After seeing a poster at a GP surgery he contacted Meri Yaadain. He says,

Without their help I would not have been able to cope.

A project worker supported Mehrban and his mother through the process of assessment and diagnosis with their GP. Meri Yaadain also helped him to arrange with social services for someone to sit with his mother on a regular basis, so that he could go out for a few hours. The monthly support groups ensure that Mehrban and his mother feel less isolated. Mehrban says,

It gives mum a break from home and a chance to get out and see people. It also helps me to meet carers in a similar situation.

Meri Yaadain has gone from strength to strength. It currently supports over 80 families in Bradford and has been incorporated into Bradford's mainstream social services. The project has won two national awards and has become a good practice model for similar projects in Tower Hamlets, Leeds and Oldham.