What is it about?
The present study gathered insights from people with dementia about what would make it possible for them to live better in Christchurch. Participants talked about the importance of being connected and engaged; of sensitivity from service providers and others in the community and raising awareness of dementia, and attributes of the physical environment requiring consideration in the rebuild. The themes that emerged about what people with dementia seek from dementia –friendly communities reinforce previous research, but with an overlay of the difficulties of living in an earthquake damaged city.
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Why is it important?
The voices of those with dementia and those who care for them should be at the start and the heart of the process of creating dementia-friendly communities (Milton, 2012). Thus the first step is to ask people with dementia and their caregivers what can be done on a community level to improve the quality of their daily lives, and then the next step is to create alliances that bring people and organizations together to implement these changes.
Perspectives
Key points were: * Maximise opportunities for meaningful activity and social engagement - Think creatively about how to be more inclusive and accommodating of people with dementia. * Encourage awareness and understanding of living with dementia amongst business, health, and other service providers and the wider community. * Think dementia when planning physical environments to make it easy to navigate and to engage in the outdoors.
Dr Susan B Gee
Canterbury District Health Board
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Developing a dementia-friendly Christchurch: Perspectives of people with dementia, Australasian Journal on Ageing, April 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/ajag.12287.
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