D–CARE – Dementia Care

According to the WHO and Alzheimer Disease International Report, dementia is a worldwide public health priority. The rapid aging of European society makes the scenario dramatic from the social point of view and in terms of costs of the disease,so much so that in 2011 the European Parliament called for dementia to become a health priority for the Member States, invited to develop specific national programs and make research funds accessible.

Project: 2021-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000027648

Start date: 01-11-2021

End date: 01-11-2023

Total duration: 24 months

Description

One of the challenges in the near future is a sharp increase in the number of individuals diagnosed with dementia. Researchers estimate that the population of people diagnosed with dementia will double over the next 25years, with a consequent increase in the demand for care. This puts pressure on our society, as drug therapy is insufficient in managing the complex clinical picture characterized by cognitive, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms.

Although the added value of combined support programs has been repeatedly demonstrated in scientific studies, their implementation remains limited in care practices across Europe. Research on the implementation of innovations in care, including psychosocial care interventions, shows that dissemination and implementation are not easy and certainly not a guaranteed consequence of the proven effectiveness of these innovations.

Currently the teaching and training methodology of those dealing with dementia is very varied and uneven across the international scene. Today, education and training systems are changing and favor a competence-centered approach. Therefore, the importance of improving competences is a fundamental requirement in the field of education/training. With this in mind, the priority is to develop an innovative higher education system capable of improving basic and essential competences, adapted to the needs of the person with dementia, in order to improve the quality of life. Through these actions, DementiaCare aims to maximize the quality of the education/training aimed at academicians, while promoting an inclusive system that will welcome differences.

DementiaCare aims to encourage the exchange of good practices, new methods of programme design, delivery and new multidisciplinary training approaches capable of promoting high levels of teaching and competences development between different institutions and training institutions. The project is developed thanks to the alliance of knowledge and cooperation between higher education institutions,training agencies,clinical and research centers, which share and develop knowledge, good practices and methodologies to achieve the common goal of improving the quality of training of educators working in the dementia sector. DementiaCare focuses on the adoption of non-pharmacological intervention strategies, in particular the use of art therapy, recognized as a technique capable of reducing the depressive and behavioral symptoms of the clinical picture and of improving the patients’overall quality of life.

The main objectives of the DementiaCare method are:

To provide a comprehensive training program for educators, so that they can gain a deep understanding of the nature of dementia and the needs of the patient and provide them with the appropriate skills necessary for work in the health and social sector;
To evaluate the effectiveness of a targeted training curriculum;
To disseminate knowledge and evidence on how a highly specialized training curriculum based on the use of “Art Therapy” can be applied and better implemented in dementia care and how it can improve the quality of life of people with dementia.
To share experiences across Europe, through staff exchanges, training courses, joint activities and similar.

For more Information visit the projects website: https://www.eu-dementiacare.org/

Coordinator:
E10111217 Osmaniye Korkut Ata University Turkey

www.osmaniye.edu.tr