Overview
In dementia care, psychosocial interventions consist of programmes, events and activities aimed at improving quality of life, communication and interactions for people with dementia, families, carers and health care professionals. The Alzheimer Café model is one such psychosocial intervention which provides the opportunity for people with dementia and carers to meet monthly to learn from each other and hear from health care professionals on dementia related topics.
Project Details
Benefits of Alzheimer Cafés include increased quality of life as well as support and service planning for families and carers. While the number of Alzheimer Cafés is growing, research is lacking on how this service operates, what benefits exist for people who attend, and what makes the service work well or what can be improved. To help increase the information, it is key to understand what helps or hinders this service, giving more insights into what is needed to help this service work best. This pilot looks at the Alzheimer Café service from this perspective; to find out what makes the service work well or what can be improved. By meeting with people who attend the Café—people with dementia and carers, as well as people involved in running the Café, the pilot will look at areas such as how the Café is set up, what topics are covered, who attends the Café, what attendees experiences are, what benefits attendees, as well as the environment and atmosphere of each Café and how variations in these may impact attendee experiences. Findings will be used to enhance dementia support services and guide how such services are developed and monitored.
