The Dementia Neighborhood Analysis Community (DCRN) turns one this 12 months, and what higher approach to have a good time than to showcase the unbelievable work of Community members and begin a dialog about higher, extra inclusive, dementia care? On Thursday 9 Might 2024, the DCRN held its first group engagement occasion to do exactly that…
The DCRN is a community of public, group, and analysis companions from throughout South London. We’re related although our shared purpose of higher take care of all individuals affected by dementia, by giving equitable alternatives to individuals of all backgrounds and ethnicities to be concerned in dementia analysis.
With because of beneficiant funding from the British Society of Gerontology, and internet hosting by King’s Faculty Hospital, we welcomed properly over 50 company to our occasion, together with individuals residing with dementia and their family, group workers from the voluntary sector, medical and managerial workers from the NHS and dementia care researchers.
Over refreshments, company might study extra concerning the superb work of various voluntary providers offering help to individuals affected by dementia in the neighborhood, together with Alzheimer’s Society Lewisham, Age UK Lewisham and Southwark, Arts 4 Dementia, HomeInstead and Froglife.
Friends might additionally find out about totally different analysis initiatives on dementia care undertaken at King’s Faculty London and College Faculty London, together with work on Day Centres, Spiritual care in Care Homes, the EMBED-Care project, the PriDem project, A Right to Be Heard coverage temporary, and the Science Gallery exhibition, Dementia Journeys.
There was alternative for company to find out about the way to get entangled with analysis from Join Dementia Research and the Cicely Saunders Institute Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) forum.
We loved music from unbelievable baritone soloist and accordionist, Alistair Sutherland, and poetry from public members, together with that from DCRN member, Margaret Ogden:
An invitation to jot down verse for the DCRN occasion
A golden alternative, that was heaven despatched
The subject – dementia in these from an ethnic background
Who’re too usually not heard, that’s what we’ve discovered
Our intention – to create a protected and interesting area
Is without doubt one of the challenges we needed to face
Openings for coaching and information trade
Are additional targets, we have now lined a spread
Not forgetting that researchers had a vital half to play
In ensuring PPI members even have their say
I hope you all have an informative afternoon
For me, as all the time, it will likely be over too quickly.
—Margaret Ogden, DCRN public member
The intention of the occasion was to showcase the DCRN and to begin conversations round how we will enhance dementia care by guaranteeing help for individuals from all ethnic backgrounds to be concerned in dementia analysis. We achieved this intention, and extra, having expanded the Community and studying extra about what individuals need to see from dementia care providers and the superb work being finished to make this a risk.
We hope you possibly can be part of us for our subsequent chapter as we proceed to work in direction of connecting communities for higher dementia care.
With particular because of all DCRN members who gave their time and vitality to assist organise and host the occasion, and to Tofunmi Aworinde for his distinctive images on the day.
There are 900,000 individuals residing within the UK with dementia as we speak. For these from minoritised ethnic communities, the variety of individuals with dementia is anticipated to extend seven instances by 2040. Analysis may help to enhance entry to dementia providers and the standard of dementia care, however alternatives for individuals from minoritised ethnic communities to be concerned in analysis are missing. The DCRN goals to alter this.
For extra data, please contact: DCRN@kcl.ac.uk
