Name of Entrant:Avril Dooley, Grassroots Coordinator, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland

Name of Project:Pavee Point Dementia Awareness Training

Project Overview

In association with Pavee Point, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland delivered dementia awareness training between October 2010 and February 2011to over 20 primary health care workers who work with the Traveller Community in the Dublin area. The primary health care workers are predominantly Traveller women.

The role of the primary health care workers is to improve the health status and quality of life of people living in their community through education and awareness. The primary health care workers currently work in conjunction with the HSE. Some of the work that the women do includes:

  • Training for health professionals around the health needs of Travellers
  • On-site health education sessions for the Traveller community
  • Coordinating visits for Travellers to a variety of clinics

Objectives

  1. Build awareness and understanding of dementia amongst the Traveller Community
  2. Dispel some of the myths and stigma that surrounds dementia in the general community but in this case particularly the Traveller Community
  3. Identify the needs and risks of the Traveller Community in relation to dementia
  4. Build awareness of the need of the Traveller Community amongst The Alzheimer Society
  5. Health promotion – although dementia is not currently a major issue for the Traveller Community, it will become more prevalent as people live longer

Implementation

In early 2010 the Alzheimer Society of Ireland recognized the importance of engaging with groups that may have difficulty accessing our services. Through an opportunity that was presented to us from a small grant received from the Dublin Bus community fund we decided to work with the Traveller Community and Pavee Point. Although the incidence of dementia within the Traveller Community is still quite low as Travellers do not live as long, dementia is still recognized as a problem. Pavee Point was also concerned at the barriers arising for Travellers around education about dementia and access to services.

In terms of the steps we took we first met with the primary health care workers, Traveller leaders and their Coordinator at Pavee Point to discuss a number ideas and plans for how to use the funding. It was agreed that we would hold a series of workshops on dementia for the primary health care workers in order to build their understanding of the illness and then develop an accessible piece of information the primary health care workers could use in their work.

When devising the training we in The Society had in mind that we needed to be culturally appropriate to Traveller’s needs. We ensured that many of the presentations were picture based for those with literacy difficulties. Many of the elements of the workshops were video based or involved group work where writing would not be necessary.

Following on from the successful workshops in partnership with the primary health care workers we identified what they felt were the most significant and relevant signs and symptoms of dementia for the Traveller Community. The Alzheimer Society had no relevant information material available as all our information booklets are predominantly text based. As a result it was agreed that the primary health care workers and their coordinator would go to appropriate Traveller locations and recreate common scenarios to photographicallyrepresent some of the signs and symptoms they had agreed upon.

Pavee Point then produced an awareness poster which highlights the signs and symptoms of dementia for the primary health care workers to use in their work which is culturally appropriate and accessible for those with low literacy levels.

Evaluation

In summary, the aim of the project was to give people easy to read information about dementia to help them understand where to go if they are worried about changes in their own memory or behaviour. The poster that was created shows pictures of older Travellers in typical situations common to people with dementia.

The Primary Health Care Workers currently use the posters in the community centres and meeting places that are used and visited by Travellers. They also use it in their fieldwork when visiting families to show that early detection of dementia s can lead to better control and management of dementia and that there are services and information available to them and their family.

Outcomes:

There have been a number of anticipated and unanticipated outcomes and benefits from the project:

  • An information poster about the signs and symptoms of dementia was produced for use by the primary health care workers for the Traveller Community
  • As a result of the training from The Society perspective we understood more about the resources that are needed to improve awareness about dementia in the Traveller Community but also a deeper understanding of the needs of Travellers and the issues they are faced with
  • From the Pavee Point perspective, the training dispelled many of the myths and some of the stigma that surrounds dementia for the primary health care workers
  • The primary health workers felt more empowered and confident in their ability to educate older Travellers in the areas they work in about the signs and symptoms of dementia and also coping strategies for families of those that have been diagnosed
  • The poster was then launched by Minister for Older People, Kathleen Lynch during the Bealtaine Festival thus raising further awareness amongst the community