23 / 40
Vol 5 No 6 December 2016/January 2017
Australian Journal of Dementia Care
23
Sheds’, originating inAustralia and operating
across the UK, is one example of a project providing
meaningful activities for older people. However, it
is mainly geared towards those people who are
socially isolated and relatively low numbers of
people with dementia participate (Milligan
et al
2012). Nevertheless, qualitative feedback included
in the report by Age UK (Milligan
et al
2012)
suggests Men in Sheds is valued by those few
people with dementia who are involved and their
family carers.
The report discusses a sense of purpose and worth
associated with being able to sell the items they
produce, ‘giving back’ to the project. Art-based
initiatives are also gaining increasing popularity in
both community and care home settings for people
with dementia. For example, Singing For The Brain,
creative arts residencies and museum-based projects
provide opportunities for meaningful activities.
Even so these projects are not yet commonplace
and nor are activities of this kind often found in
broader services. Research has suggested there are
not enough community services that cater for
people with young onset dementia (Harris & Keady
2009) where work opportunities may be important.
Qualitative research by Bamford and Bruce (2000),
evaluating UK services, found that some of them
lacked meaningful activities. For example in an
evaluation of a dementia cafe a person with
dementia said “there’s nowt wrong about the place,
but...you get a bit bored” (Bamford & Bruce 2000
p555). The researchers found choice was important,
as well as providing activities with a sense of
achievement.
Funding may be one of the problems. AMen in
Sheds project in Nottingham, catering for six people
per session, eight times per week cost $A58,470 in
2010 / 2011(Milligan
et al
2012). This cost was
similar to two other projects and was forecast to rise
to $A80,405 the following year. Given the well-
known pressures on funding and rising demand
from an ageing population, project development
has been constrained.
Developing social projects
The OiwakexDementia Project and DAYS BLG
Project are unique in combining the importance of
meaningful activities with acknowledging that
businesses can play a role in making them
affordable. People with dementia can drive forward
the development of their projects and be involved
in raising money by engaging in various activities
provided by local businesses. So the question is, can
we get businesses to recognise dementia as a social
issue they should support?
In Japan, there is a national Dementia Project
which aims to connect private businesses with
dementia as a societal issue using focus groups.
Another initiative, called Futures, collaborates with
the British Council and includes some engagement
from organisations such as Nesta andAccenture
participating in workshops to develop social
innovations for people with dementia (Okada
2013). Australia and the UK have begun to move in
the same direction by encouraging businesses to
become more dementia-friendly (Alzheimer’s
Australia 2014; Department of Health 2015).
Of course, it is important to take into account the
ethical considerations around exploitation. Projects
would have to take the form of voluntary action
with transparency and open discussion of income
and expenditure. During my visits people with
dementia appeared to be motivated by the fact they
were contributing to something ‘bigger’ and able to
have a say in how the projects grew and invested
their money. But guidelines may well be needed on
how similar projects in other countries can be run
lawfully and ethically.
Taking forward this model would require both a
top-down push, with government and the private
sector getting behind the concept, and a bottom-up
push by communities jointly reaching out to
businesses. Collaboration by the public, private and
community sectors may help to create new,
affordable opportunities for meaningful activities.
Conclusion
Social innovation can arise from learning about
what people are doing in other settings; therefore,
perhaps some of these lessons from Japan are useful
for moving forward with dementia care in other
countries. I was impressed by the initiative people
from local communities were taking to network
with local businesses and create self-sustainable
projects for people with dementia.
Both projects I visited shared the vision of
providing activities that value people with
dementia as people, not patients. It was not about
treatment but looking beyond the dementia to
provide activities that they can enjoy and be
valued for.
Social projects: what people say
People with dementia
“Participating in this project, I earned money and
bought a gift to my son. That was a very memorable
experience for me!”
(OiwakexDementia Project)
“I found the sense of purpose in my life again. I
realised that there are still many things I can do. I got
confidence in my life!”
(OiwakexDementia Project)
.
“I’ve got dementia, but I realised I shouldn’t worry
myself. After joining the BLG project, I felt revived”
(DAYS BLG Project)
.
Family members
“Participating in this project, my wife got more smiles
and talks. She looks so glad on the day she goes to
project. When she comes back to home, she always
talks about what she did”
(OiwakexDementia Project).
“Previously my mother used to tend to stay at her
house. After participating in this project, she gradually
came to go out vigorously, sleep well at night and she
improved her life rhythm”
(OiwakexDementia Project).
“My father has a valued place, somewhere to go
which he looks forward to”
(DAYS BLG Project)
.
“Spending time at BLG has helped him become
brighter and also kinder to everybody”
(DAYS BLG
Project)
.
References
Bamford C, Bruce E
(2000) Defining the
outcomes of community
care: the perspectives of
older people with
dementia and their carers.
Ageing and Society
20(5)
543-570.
Beard RL, Fox PJ (2008).
Resisting social
disenfranchisement:
Negotiating collective
identities and everyday life
with memory loss.
Social
Science & Medicine
66(7),
1509-1520.
Department of Health
(2012)
Prime Minister’s
Challenge on Dementia:
delivering major
improvements in dementia
care and research by
2015
. London:
Department of Health.
Department of Health
(2015)
Prime Minister’s
Challenge on Dementia
2020
. London:
Department of Health.
Harris PB, Keady J (2009)
Selfhood in younger onset
dementia: transitions and
testimonies.
Aging and
Mental Health
13(3) 437-
444.
Milligan C, Payne S,
Bingley A, Cockshott Z
(2012)
Evaluation of the
Men in Sheds pilot
program
. London: Age
UK.
Nakanishi M, Nakashima
T (2014) Features of the
Japanese national
dementia strategy in
comparison with
international dementia
policies: How should a
national dementia policy
interact with the public
health and social care
systems?
Alzheimer’s &
Dementia
10 468-476.
Okada M, Igarashi Y,
Nomura T, Tokuda T
(2013) The Dementia
Project: innovation driven
by social challenges.
Fujitsu Scientific and
Technical Journal
49(4)
448-454.
Prince M
et al
(2015)
World Alzheimer report
2015: the global impact of
dementia
. London:
Alzheimer’s Disease
International.
This article first
appeared in the UK
Journal of Dementia
Care
24(4) 32-34.