Dementia in Europe
Published 13 November 2007
More than 20 Alzheimer associations from all over Europe came together for the 17th annual Alzheimer Europe conference in Portugal in May.
The conference provides a forum for representatives from member countries to share good practice in dementia care.
The title of this year's conference was 'The Sound of Silence', and it focused on the impact of dementia on people diagnosed with the disease and their carers.
While many speakers, including people with dementia, gave presentations on the importance of supporting people with dementia to express themselves and defend their basic rights, other delegates spoke about approaches to dementia care in their home countries.
A summary of a few of the presentations is below:
Germany
A research project in Germany has evaluated the benefits of Living Groups for people with dementia.
The idea of Living Groups is to provide care and support to people with dementia through a shared responsibility between the state, relatives, carers, and volunteers.
Results from the research study showed that the model of shared responsibility provides relief to the family carer and enables them to participate in their relative's life in ways other than just caring.
The Netherlands
The Dutch Alzheimer Association has made huge strides in helping to implement a National Dementia Programme.
In 2002, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport asked the association and the Netherlands Institute for Health and Welfare to develop a nationwide programme to improve dementia care from a client perspective.
Now, improvement teams are in operation in 58 regions across the country, and families themselves have been involved in coming up with priorities for local improvement plans.
Scotland
The Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling is developing a Dementia Care Practice Licence (DCPL).
The licence will be used to test the competence of experienced care workers who provide care to people with dementia.
It is based on a Home Care Practice Licence (also developed by the DSDC), which is already being used to both train and test entry-level care staff.
The test is based on a driving licence, and uses theory, an oral exam and observation.
