Caring Community - Dementia-friendly Community

The "caring community"

In every community, in every district, there are people who need special support in everyday life. These include, for example, old, frail, sick people, people with disabilities or those affected by dementia. The aim of a caring community is to promote those bonds of life in order to integrate and support these people in society. In a caring community there is not only professional social offers, but also private engagement and neighborhood help. Social cohesion is lived here and the citizens of a municipality, a district or a residential area get involved.

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• What distinguishes a “caring church”?
• The dementia-friendly community
• How can a care culture be promoted?

What distinguishes a “caring church”?

Values such as mindfulness, empathy, respect and solidarity shape everyday life. Every citizen can make a contribution to include people in need in everyday life and not to exclude them: at the hairdresser, in public transport, in a taxi, when shopping in the store, when crossing the street, etc. This is also where the working people understand in your workplace, e.g. police, post office, pharmacy, supermarket etc.

Promoting social participation, for example, counteracts loneliness in old age, helps to cope better with changes in life and relieves family carers.

The dementia-friendly community

It is particularly important for people with dementia to be able to actively and independently participate in everyday life for as long as possible, despite the progressive illness and the changes associated with it. They increasingly need support from relatives, friends and other people in their social environment. Appreciative communication, based on respect and respect, is particularly important and helps to avoid misunderstandings. Because people with dementia - depending on the stage of their illness - have special needs.

Supporting people with dementia, the recognition of their skills and enabling them to participate in public life are also the responsibility of the community and society as a whole. It is important to counteract stigmatization so that people with dementia do not feel excluded from social life. This also relieves the family carers.

The dementia-sensitive design of the living environment, but also appreciation and the possibility of self-determination, enable people with dementia and their relatives to participate. This helps to improve the quality of life of those affected. The Austrian Dementia Strategy recommends taking measures to raise awareness and information at the communal level and to support the dementia-friendly design of the living environment. People with dementia can actively take part in joint club activities, go to the hairdresser or supermarket, etc.

How can a care culture be promoted?

Cities and municipalities can support the development of a care culture in the municipality or in the district through health promotion projects. The projects can cover the following areas:

• Support of people in need,
• Promotion of civil society engagement
• Development and promotion of social networks or private support networks,
• Training of volunteers,
• Develop supportive care in the workplace

Examples from practice are:

In the “Dementia-friendly pharmacy” project, the pharmacies are used as a trusted contact point for advice and information. An important goal is to promote an open approach to the topic of dementia and to reduce or avoid stigmatization of those affected.

In the “Operation Dementia” project, police officers are specifically trained in dealing with people with dementia and prepared for possible situations.

The focus of the project “Dementia-friendly model community Moosburg” is the development of a dementia-friendly community environment in which people with dementia and their relatives experience the acceptance that is so urgently needed for their particular life situation.

Additional Information:

• A good life with dementia - FGÖ-funded projects
• What does OLD mean? Health Promotion Conference 2018 (presentations)