How can people with dementia participate in everyday life? Which needs and wishes can be implemented together with relatives depending on the stage of the illness? What can employees in care facilities do in daily interaction with one another in order to interpret the needs of those affected?
The new project “PraWiDem – Nursing Practice and Science on the Subject of Dementia” of the Institute for Health and Nursing Science at the University Medical Center Halle (Saale) is dedicated to these and other questions. “PraWiDem” is funded by the Federal Ministry of Health for three years as part of the National Dementia Strategy. The Halle site will receive funding of 326,000 euros.
At the onset of dementia, those affected are largely independent. If they are in need of care, the caregiver and their relatives face a variety of challenges. Everyday practical things are often difficult and communication with people with dementia requires great empathy. Much research has been carried out on the subject of dementia in recent years, but the results have not been incorporated into nursing practice either to a relevant extent or promptly, reports the project coordinator and nursing scientist Dr. Anja Bieber.
“With the so-called ‘Living Lab Dementia Approach’ we bring scientists and practice representatives into close cooperation and try to deal with questions relating to the care of people with dementia in a practical and up-to-date manner,” explains Bieber. This concept of science-practice transfer comes from the Netherlands, has already been tested there and is now being adapted to the topic of dementia.
The Institute for Health and Nursing Science at the University Medicine Halle is leading the project in conjunction with two scientific cooperation partners: the University of Cologne and the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. In addition, the Paul Riebeck Foundation in Halle for inpatient care and the Diakonissenhaus Zion Aue in the Ore Mountains for outpatient care and the Krefeld municipal retirement homes are part of the joint project.
The Institute for Health and Nursing Science at the University Medical Center Halle (Saale) has many years of experience in the fields of age and dementia. For example, research was carried out on the transition from home to inpatient care for dementia and the use of professional help for dementia (EU projects “RightTimePlaceCare” and “ActifCare”). Competencies in theory-practice transfer were developed in the “Dementia Care Nurse” project funded by the state of Saxony-Anhalt with EU funds as part of the Autonomy-in-Age program, in which people with dementia and their families are trained by specially trained people Dementia Care Nurses are accompanied and advised according to their needs.
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