Dementia-inclusive radio series 'Talkin' About Neurodegeneration'-A look under the dementia umbrella and a follow-on series to award-winning 'Voyage Around My Brain' on NearFM

Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec;17 Suppl 8:e053859. doi: 10.1002/alz.053859.

ABSTRACT

'Talkin' About Neurodegeneration' a ground-breaking radio series sharing voices of Brain Health Experts, with people living with different neurodegenerative diseases, their caregivers and other experts working in the arts - a four-way conversation about living with dementia. The aim is to spotlight lesser-known diseases in particular LBD which is the most common dementia that nobody knows about and educate listeners that Alzheimer's Disease is not the only one associated with dementia. Radio producer, researcher, broadcaster and GBHI Fellow, Karen Meenan was awarded CRAOL National Gold Award for 'Voyage Around My Brain' which introduced listeners to people living with dementia, their caregivers and Brain Health Experts from GBHI over 17 weeks with 50+ guests, half of whom were living with dementia. CRAOL stated 'congratulations for sharing the voices of people living with dementia, we need to hear these stories, great twist to have experts on the same programme'. Listenership on NearFM on Monday 7-8pm has almost doubled v same period last year with regular emails saying how listeners enjoy learning new aspects about dementia. 'Thank you for this programme, I look forward to it eagerly each week' 'My Dad has Parkinson's disease, I didn't realise that dancing was an important part of his care, thanks for letting me know' 'Thanks for the spotlight on insomnia, I have had trouble sleeping for years, I'm going to put into practice some of the suggestions by your guests last week' … as samples of the correspondence. 'Talkin' About Neurodegeneration' will tell the story of these diseases in an engaging, educational and entertaining way - how did Lewy Body Dementia get its name, how is Huntington's disease in South Africa traced back to one individual, why is dancing good for people living with Parkinson's disease and how can reminiscence theatre spark memories for people living with Alzheimer's Disease. Karen Meenan is designing and building a new website for people in Ireland living with Lewy Body Disease - there is nothing in place for these estimated 6,000 people at present. 'Talkin' About Neurodegeneration' is a component of this new website. This is her GBHI Pilot Project.

PMID:34971217 | DOI:10.1002/alz.053859