A Tool to Involve

A Tool to Involve Wouter Stevens Dementia Portfolio Website

Dementia is one of the fastest-growing causes of death in the Netherlands. With an ageing population, it will only grow bigger. An active social life can postpone or protect against the development of dementia. While this active social life is often in the hands of relatives visiting a person with dementia in a care facility, relatives may experience difficulty when confronted with dementia.  specially young relatives may find this difficult. This project focussed on developing a tool that would increase the incentives for younger adults during conversations to assist them.

Through a mixed-methods approach, the tool was developed, problems were indicated and the tool was used in an intergenerational conversation. A growth in the level of feelings of awkwardness, confusion, difficulty and problematic conversations was indicated during intergenerational conversations with a person with dementia compared to those without dementia. While the tool could contribute positively, a more sophisticated long-term effect was not included.