Community matters: Promoting social participation for individuals living with early dementia and their partners.

Origin of the project
The need for interventions for individuals recently diagnosed or in the early stages of dementia has been identified by the Alzheimer’s Group Inc. (AGI). AGI is a community organization in Montréal that provides support services to families and professional care partners for over 40 years, assisting more than 500 families annually. While AGI offers counseling services for individuals at the early stages, group programs that focus on social participation and the promotion of meaningful activities are still lacking. Our team has developed a new community-based intervention for individuals post-diagnosis that, if implemented in partnership with AGI, can address this gap in service. This intervention offers a tailored approach that can promote social participation and healthy lifestyles for these individuals. The key element of this intervention is to encourage continuing participation by people following a dementia diagnosis. For instance, it can include the development of strategies to overcome barriers to the performance of these activities, or gradual practice and repetition of changes in daily routine. With the support of the occupational therapist, the participants’ reflection and analysis of the relative importance of occupations, their meaning, and their impact on their health allow them to develop specific skills and maintain them. This intervention is designed to be facilitated by an occupational therapist, who has the expertise in supporting individuals resuming or maintaining participation by using tailored approaches to address their specific needs.

Objective
Thus, the goal of this proposed project is to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the program at Alzheimer’s Group Inc.

Deliverables
Three main deliverables will be produced by the team:

• List of potential barriers and facilitators to the implementation of this intervention at a community organization
• Implementation protocol
• Educational materials for students in the health and social sciences

Anticipated results / Spin-offs

• Adapt the intervention to local contexts
• Guide implementation of the program at other organizations/contexts
• To train the next generation of health care professionals on the importance of continued social participation of these individuals.