Dementia Elevator Innovation Award
Shortlist 2015
See below the diverse range of wonderfully innovative projects in the running to receive the Dementia Elevator Innovation Award 2015 and the Dementia Champions Award 2015
‘Will Grandad Remember Me?’ The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Schools Dementia Awareness Project in Ireland.
Dearbhla O Caheny / Dr Suzanne Cahill, Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSIDC), Dublin
Will Grandad Remember Me’ is a dementia educational and awareness project developed by the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSIDC). The overarching aim of the project is to increase awareness among secondary school students about ageing and dementia and to provide them with a comprehensive understanding of Alzheimer's disease and of the risk factors for dementia particularly modifiable risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, and obesity. The project promotes a clear and focused message about growing old and ageing well, how our brain and memory work and how lifestyle choices and behaviours in early to mid life can affect brain health and cognitive function in later life. The project also promotes a greater understanding of dementia and in particular how young people can help a person to live well with dementia.
The Dargle Group: Conversation Coaching for People with Dementia and their Communication Partners.
Aifric Conway/ Suzanna Dooley, St Columcille’s Hospital, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin
As speech and language therapists (SLTs), the project team is acutely aware of the cognitive-communication deficits which can occur for people with dementia. The person with dementia can lose confidence, withdraw from social interaction and become increasingly isolated and depressed. In light of this, a gap in the service was identified for people in the mild-moderate stages of dementia presenting with communication difficulties. As part of a Dementia Champion Change Project, the team developed and delivered a “Conversational Coaching Group for People with Dementia and their Communication Partners”. The members of the first group named it “The Dargle Group”.
Speech and language therapists are well placed to work with individuals and family carers throughout the course of the illness to identify communication difficulties and needs. By providing support, enabling understanding and recommending strategies, SLTs are able to work with carers and people with dementia to help maintain their interpersonal relationships.
Jog Your Memory: an upstream approach to memory challenges.
Mary Tinnelly, Meath Primary Care Team, Dublin 8
The occupational therapy department at Dublin South Central have developed a four-week memory education programme for community dwelling adults. This group programme provides information on memory processes, compensatory strategies and lifestyle intervention; with the aim of improving client’s satisfaction with cognitive processes and associated quality of life.
A primary health promotion approach is adopted for this intervention; whereby the focus is on working with the well population who are community dwelling and maintaining meaningful roles, routines and engagement in desired occupations. By adopting this upstream approach, the purpose is to provide group participants with the education and skills to be champions of their own health and well-being. Goal setting is incorporated weekly in order for participants to self- identify unique targets for each participant to work on. Group participants appraise one another’s goals and provide support and encouragement through sharing their experiences of achievement. This group is targeted for those who have identified subjective memory complaints or those with mild cognitive impairment.
The group creates an avenue to gain greater understanding into memory processes. It addresses the stigma and anxieties participants can feel due to reduced self-confidence and self-efficacy brought about by memory challenges. This project provides a forum for those who have concerns about their memory to share experiences, gain support. Through group cohesion there is a sense of unity and team work. This team work fosters problems solving approach and reduces the fear which may be associated with experiencing memory challenges.
Living Well with Dementia Support Service
Mary Moylan / Liz Bowe, St. Michaels Centre, St Patrick’s Centre (Kikenny) Ltd.
St. Patrick’s Centre is a large residential congregated setting for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). 95% of service users are within the severe/profound range of ID with many living with multiple complex needs.
In light of this unique co-hort group it was recognized through evidence based practice that there is little development of screening tools, assessments etc. to support cognition monitoring within this level of ID. Through support from senior management at St. Patrick’s an opportunity to develop such a support service for our ageing population of service users emerged;
Since its development in June 2015, the project has enabled the Multidisciplinary Team to ensure that service users with cognitive changes will gain a comprehensive consensual diagnosis through the Clinical Care Pathway.
The following are the key areas that were developed as the foundation of the support service:
· Gathering baseline of ADL skills for each service user with the pilot scheme 30yrs + by developing a Task Analysis recording chart based on Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire
· Creating a Cognitive Checklist Flagger Tool for service users 30 yrs. + to be completed with Annual Medicals.
· Developed a Diagnostic Clinical Care Pathway for Cognition Changes to aid with consensual diagnosis of dementia or other pathology.
· Created add on Dementia Care Plan for service users receiving a diagnosis of dementia.
· Generated add on Advance End of Life Care Plan for service users approaching end of life.
· Analysis and guidance regarding staff dementia training requirements.
Developing life stories through digital technology as a means of supporting creative person centred care for persons with an intellectual disability and dementia.
Pamela Dunne, Daughters of Charity Support Service, Dublin 15
The value of life story work in supporting meaningful communication for persons who are forgetful as a consequence of dementia is well recognized. This initiative describes an innovative approach of creating life story through digital technology.
A multi-step approach to this initiative was taken:
· A comprehensive survey on technology preparedness and use was distributed to 287 people with an intellectual disability with and without dementia
· An exploration was undertaken of currently available life story and music apps and a suite of easy to use apps were identified and then pilot tested by one service user with early stage dementia living in a community home.
· A ‘Train the Trainer’ manual was developed instructing how to use these Apps and a staff/service user training program was developed.
· 12 people were chosen from those who responded positively in the survey - along a spectrum from those at higher risk i.e. persons with Down syndrome but cognitively well to persons diagnosed and at a late stage in their dementia.
· A virtual life story was created with/for each individual using personal photos, as well as favorite songs and video clips.
· This approach will have wide reach to all persons with dementia opening up innovative person centered opportunities for meaningful communication across the continuum of dementia.
An Integrated and Co-ordinated Dementia Care Project for South East Dublin and Co. Wicklow
Dr Rachael Doyle/ Elizabeth Doyle/ Dr Nicola Cochrane/ Eilis Hession/ Mary Bolger/ Joyce Jones/ Niamh Van Den Bergh/ Deirdre Fitzgerald/ Dr Orla Collins
St Vincent’s Hospital/ St Columcilles Hospital, Dublin
Following diagnosis, persons with early dementia are referred by the Clinician from St. Vincent’s University Hospital or St. Columcille’s Hospital (SCH) to an Occupational Therapist or Speech and Language Therapist (both dementia champions) in SCH to assess suitability for a six week memory rehabilitation programme or a six week communication interventional programme.
Other initiatives include:
· A personal communication passport- will help PWD to frame their identity.
· A Pool Activity Level (PAL) Assessment– A dementia specific Instrument for Occupational Profiling
· An off-road driving assessment.
· Memory Resource Room- This will provide information and advice about assistive technologies for people with dementia, their families and their carers. Items such as locators, GPS tracking devices and home safety devices will be on display. Plans for the installation of same in SCH are being finalized.
· Liaison Public Health Nurses (LPHN) visit both hospitals weekly & link with community primary care team staff and families re home supports for individuals. They advise on local dementia services (Alzpals, nite club, day care) & incorporate those supports into individual care plans.
· Persons with all stages of dementia are given information to avail of services available in their local community.
Active Minds
Rurari Murphy, Meath Local Supports Partnership (LSP)
Active Minds is a physical activity based programme designed to combat the early onset of dementia in adults and to offer pathways to physical activity to adults with dementia, their carers and siblings. Meath LSP will address the area of Early onset of Dementia through engagement with the following local organisations and delivery of the Active Minds programme:
Ø Meath Alzheimers Society – Day Care Centre in Liscarton
Ø Alzheimers Social club in Athboy
Ø Alzheimers Café in Dunshaughlin
Ø Meath Mental Health Services (St Brigids Day Care centre, Donore)
Ø Meath Age friendly County network
Active Minds is an initial 8 week programme made up of 2 weekly activity sessions of 30 minutes duration. The programme supports the implementation of Healthy Ireland (2013)⁵ and priority actions under the National Dementia Strategy by highlighting the modifiable lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors which can beneficially impact on risk and time of onset of dementia, and by implementing the National Physical Activity Plan which will encourage the population to be more physically active.
Alzheimer’s Society Garden Project
Adrian Friel / Lisa Hendley, Alzheimer Society UK, Co Antrim
In 2014 the Alzheimer’s Society were donated a plot of land from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. They set about looking for a group of men living with dementia in the local area that had an interest in gardening. Eight men were identified who were interested in the project. They are led by an Alzheimer’s Society staff member and a volunteer who comes once a week to help the men to grow and cultivate their flowers and produce.
A younger man with dementia comes every morning to water the plants and has stated that spending time in the garden helps him forget about his dementia. The team feel that everybody can benefit from project, the men, volunteer, staff, local school children, the ladies who use the garden’s log cabin to meet for their activity afternoons and the public as a whole as the project is bringing people living with dementia into the local community.
The Shankill Social Sofa
Mervyn Bell, The Spectrum Centre, Co Antrim
The Social Sofa project was a collaborative project between Hemsworth Court (supported accommodation, Belfast), Spectrum Centre (arts/cultural centre) and artist Maria Duddy. Although the project has taken place it is now planned to utilize the end product in the next stage of the work.
The Social Sofa is a 1750 kgs concrete sofa which tenants have covered in coloured mosaic tiles bringing their own bespoke design to vibrant and eye-catching life. Over 10 months, with tenants leading the process, they engaged a number of local community groups (including schoolchildren) to create a design which combined iconic local places, personal reminiscences, and individual art work to express their very personal feelings of how they live with dementia.
The project has directly benefited the tenants in Hemsworth, and the wider community who have supported the project, are immensely proud of what tenants have achieved and who themselves have become much more aware of and sensitive to people living with dementia.
The next stage of the project is to utilize the Sofa, in other locations, to enable creativity/expression, challenge stereotypes, and enable integration and inclusion.
Azure at dlr LexIcon
Marie Davey /Siobahin Mangan, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council/ HSE, Health and Wellbeing Division
Azure at dlr LexIcon, (Dun Laoghaire) consists of visits for people with dementia and family members/carers to look at, explore anddiscuss a selection of artworks from exhibitions in the Municipal Gallery, witha facilitator who is trained to support people with dementia. The tours finishes with a cup of tea and a chat.
The project is part of the Azure network that is currently being developed across the country. Azure is a collaborative initiative involving Age & Opportunity, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Butler Gallery and the Irish Museum of Modern Art which seeks to encourage greater access for people living with dementia and their families tocultural experiencesin Ireland.Azure is inspired and advised by the New York based Meet me at MoMA programme to make art accessible for people with dementia.
The dlr/HSE Arts and Health Partnership with the Living Well with Dementia Project – Stillorgan/Blackrock piloted the project earlier this year and have trained two facilitators to ensure that the programme can be sustained.
Timeslips
Noreen Barry / Bairbre-Ann Harkin, St Canice’s Hospital, / Bulter Gallery, Kilkenny
Timeslips is a creative expression program that is being delivered to participants with dementia on Gabriel's Ward. The idea is to provide an opportunity to show images to people with dementia, and get them to make up a story based on aspects of the image.
Facilitators are taught to ask open-ended questions based on a prompt that promotes imagination, rather than dictate or guide it. Facilitators write down all responses and read them back to participants as the story builds. The facilitators use open ended questions about the image and records participants responses on paper, making it clear that there are no incorrect answers. The story is periodically read back to the participants as it progresses, to maintain the group’s focus and enthusiasm. It is envisaged that when there are a substantial amount of stories gathered and transcribed together with the image a publication will be produced for engagement and display.
Timeslips relies on creative/generative processes rather than demanding active use of long and short term memory, residents feel more comfortable contributing to activity sessions. The process and activity of Timeslips is failure free. Timeslips engages people with dementia in meaningful activity that focuses on remaining strengths and capacities.