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Purpose: We aimed to identify assistive technologies that are promising for addressing loneliness in people living with dementia in long-term care. Materials and methods: A scoping review was conducted. EBSCO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest were searched from 2000 to 2020. The included studies were selected by three independent researchers and summarised, compared, and categorized according to technology type. Publications were eligible for inclusion when they reported on psychosocial interventions aiming to reduce loneliness and/or social isolation in people with dementia in long-term care settings. Results: Twenty-four papers were included (20 original research papers and four reviews). Most studies were conducted in Australia and Europe. The studies aimed to investigate two different types of assistive technology: social robots, and multimedia computer systems. Most studies focussed on behaviour, engagement, and mood as primary outcomes. Only one study directly aimed to alleviate loneliness. Conclusions: Even though only one study addressed loneliness directly, it became clear that assistive technologies used to apply psychosocial interventions have the potential to impact loneliness in people with dementia in long-term care. However, it remains unclear why loneliness was not included as an outcome and how loneliness could become a key outcome in evaluating assistive technologies.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Loneliness among older adults is associated with health risks, such as the development of dementia, depression, and increased mortality. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have been studied to address loneliness for older adults; however people with dementia are often excluded from such studies. This diverse group of technologies is shown to have a promising impact on outcomes, such as social engagement, quality of life, and mood, but loneliness was studied less often. More research is needed to discover the potential of assistive technologies for people with dementia living in long-term care.

Background: People with dementia can improve their wellbeing by using touchscreen technology. FindMyApps is a program comprising of a web-based selection-tool and an errorless learning training to help people with dementia and their caregivers find suitable apps which can improve their self-management and engagement in meaningful activities. This process evaluation was conducted as part of an exploratory pilot trial into Find-MyApps and involved a sample of the participants in this trial. Objective: To evaluate which factors might influence the trial outcomes, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidance. Contextual, implementation, and mechanisms of impact factors that may have influenced trial outcomes were evaluated. Method: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews (SSIs) with participants from both trial arms and other stakeholders. The SSI designed for this study comprised closed and open questions, based on the MRC process evaluation guidance. Twenty people with mild dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and their caregivers were recruited in the Netherlands. Exclusion criteria were severe sight problems or moderate to severe dementia. All participants received a tablet computer for three months. Dyads in the experimental group were taught to use the tablet and Find-MyApps tool by the ‘errorless learning’ method, to help them find apps for self-management and meaningful activities. Dyads in the control group received general instruction in tablet use and a list of websites with potentially useful apps. Results: Important themes identified included participants experiencing technical problems and variable quality of training in the use of the FindMyApps selection-tool. Dyads did not use FindMyApps-tool regularly, but frequently used the apps they found through FindMyApps and experienced them as useful and enjoyable. Conclusion: The tablet-based FindMyApps intervention is experienced as user-friendly and useful by people with dementia/MCI and their informal caregivers. Several adaptations to the trial protocol are recommended, to ensure robust outcomes of a definitive effectiveness trial of FindMyApps.

The increasing number of elderly people living at home demands a strengthening of primary care for (vulnerable) older adults. Therefore, in 2015 the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam founded the Universitaire Praktijk Ouderengeneeskunde (UPO) (University Practice for Elderly Care). This practice makes the expertise of the Elderly Care physician (SO) available in primary care through a close and easy accessible collaboration between the SO and the General Practitioner. The aim of this research is an evaluation of the UPO, in order to determine the added value of this care innovation and to identify areas for improvement. This research consists of a quantitative part in which the characteristics of the 190 treated UPO patients have been assessed. Also, costs have been estimated of UPO care compared to expected usual care. The qualitative part of this study consists of 22 interviews with the most important UPO stakeholders. The results of this study show that 1) the UPO seems to meet a demand from general practitioners to support them in the care of vulnerable elderly people with mostly cognitive disorders, 2) this care seems to save costs and 3) the UPO was appreciated by most of those involved. The current results call for applying this care innovation in other regions and to evaluate it on a larger scale.Het toenemende aantal thuiswonende ouderen vraagt om een versterking van de eerstelijnszorg voor (kwetsbare) ouderen. In 2015 is daarom door het VU medisch centrum in Amsterdam de Universitaire Praktijk Ouderengeneeskunde (UPO) opgericht. Deze praktijk maakt de deskundigheid van de specialist ouderengeneeskunde (SO) beschikbaar in de eerstelijnszorg door een nauwe en laagdrempelige samenwerking tussen de SO en de huisartsenpraktijk. Het doel van dit onderzoek is een evaluatie van de UPO, om zo de waarde van deze zorginnovatie te kunnen bepalen en verbeterpunten te signaleren. Dit onderzoek bestaat uit een kwantitatief deel waarin de kenmerken van de 190 behandelde UPO-patiënten in kaart zijn gebracht. Daarnaast zijn de kosten van UPO-zorg en de verwachte, gebruikelijke zorg geschat. In het kwalitatieve deel zijn 22 interviews gedaan met de belangrijkste UPO-stakeholders. De resultaten van deze studie tonen dat 1) de UPO in een vraag van huisartsen lijkt te voorzien door ondersteuning bij de zorg voor kwetsbare ouderen met veelal cognitieve stoornissen, 2) deze zorg kosten lijkt te besparen en 3) deze zorg door de meeste betrokkenen wordt gewaardeerd. De huidige resultaten geven aanleiding deze zorginnovatie ook in andere regio’s toe te passen en grootschaliger te evalueren.

Background: The Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) offers a combined approach to providing practical, emotional and social support to people living with mild to moderately severe dementia and their family carers in the community. Methods: A mixed methods explanatory design was used. The evaluation took place within the framework of the international Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) – MEETINGDEM study in nine Meeting Centres in Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. Eighty-seven people with dementia and 81 family carers completed a user evaluation survey after three months and 83 people with dementia and 84 carers after 6 months of participation in MCSP. Thirty-two people with dementia and 30 carers took part in focus groups after nine months. Results: The percentage of people with dementia who were very satisfied with the programme increased significantly over time (p = 0.05). The majority of carers reported that they felt less burdened after three months of participation in MCSP (48.1% much less; 35.4% a little less). After six months, this percentage increased significantly to 91% (p = 0.04, 57.7% much less; 33.3% little less). Focus group analysis showed that people with dementia and carers in all countries/centres improved their ability to maintain emotional balance. Conclusions: The MCSP is highly appreciated by people with dementia and carers in all countries and it confirms the results of previous research into MCSP in the Netherlands. Our findings indicate that MCSP is a model that can help its users to increase their capacity to deal with the challenges caused by dementia and can promote emotional balance.

Objectives: This is the first study to focus on the role and impact of a psychosocial intervention, the Meeting Centre Support Programme (MCSP), for people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on the experience of stigmatisation across three different European countries. Method: A pre/post-test control group study design compared outcomes for 114 people with dementia (n=74) and MCI (n=40) in Italy, Poland and the UK who received either the MCSP or usual care (UC). The ‘Stigma Impact Scale, neurological disease’ (SIS) was administered at two points in time, 6 months apart. The Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) was used to assess the level of cognitive impairment. Results: Although statistical analysis did not show any significant differences between MCSP and UC at pre/post-test for the 3 countries combined, there were significant results for individual countries. In Italy, the level of SIS was significantly lower (p=0.02) in the MCSP group following the intervention. The level of Social Isolation increased significantly (p=0.05) in the UC group at follow-up in Poland. The level of Social Rejection was significantly higher (p=0.03) over time for UK participants receiving MCSP compared to UC. Conclusion: The experience of stigma by people living with dementia and MCI is complex and there may be different country specific contexts and mechanisms. The results do not enable us to confirm or disconfirm the impact of a social support programme, such as MCSP, on this experience. Difficulties in directly measuring the level of stigma in this group also requires further research.

Objectives: Until now little research has been done to answer the question of whether people with dementia experience stigma. No previous studies investigated possible differences between countries and cultures. Therefore, the aims of this study were to compare the experience of stigma (with social isolation, social rejection and internalised shame as components) among people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 180) in Italy (n = 79), Poland (n = 47) and the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 54); and to investigate possible relationships with demographical and clinical outcomes. Methods: A one group multinational cross-sectional design was used. Stigma was measured with the Stigma Impact Scale (SIS), quality of life aspects with Dementia Quality of Life scale (DQOL) and Quality of Life Alzheimer’s Disease scale (QOL-AD), social support with Duke Social Support Index (DSSI), cognitive functioning with Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). Results: The level of stigmatisation (SIS) among study participants varied from 2 to 65 (median = 33.5; Q1 = 27; Q3 = 41). People with dementia in the UK experienced a higher level of stigmatisation than people in Italy and Poland. The experienced stigmatisation negatively correlated with social support (DSSI; rho = −0.42, p = 0.000) and quality of life (QOL-AD; rho = −0.39, p = 0.000). People who experienced a higher level of stigmatisation scored higher in negative mood DQOL subscale (rho = 0.28, p = 0.0002). Conclusion: There is a strong need for research into the individual experience of people with dementia across the world. This could help in providing support and care services that match their experience, needs, preferences; and in designing well informed awareness campaigns based on their voice.

The current study focuses on the short-term effect of MARIO, a social robot, on quality of life, depression, and perceived social support in persons with dementia (PWD) and evaluates their acceptability of MARIO. Ten PWD in one nursing home took part in a 4-week pilot study, where each participant had up to 12 sessions with MARIO. Sessions comprised engagement in music, news, reminiscence, games, and calendar applications. Standardized questionnaires were administered before and after the 4-week period. Participants had a sustained interest in MARIO during their interactions and an acceptance of MARIO's appearance, sound, and applications. Consequently, participants spent more time socially engaged. No statistically significant differences were found in quality of life, depression, and perceived social support. PWD can engage with a social robot in a real-world nursing home. Future research should incorporate a larger sample and longer intervention period. Funding received from European Union Horizons 2020—The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020) (grant agreement 643808). The authors acknowledge all members of the MARIO Project Advisory Board and the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme (project ID: GOIPD/2017/1301). peer-reviewed 2020-06-25

Objectives: The MEETINGDEM research project aimed to implement the combined Dutch Meeting Centre Support Programme (MCSP) for community-dwelling people with dementia and caregivers within Italy, Poland and UK and to assess whether comparable benefits were found in these countries as in the Netherlands. Method: Nine pilot Meeting Centres (MCs) participated (Italy-5, Poland-2, UK-2). Effectiveness of MCSP was compared to usual care (UC) on caregiver outcomes measuring competence (SSCQ), mental health (GHQ-12), emotional distress (NPI-Q) and loneliness (UCLA) analysed by ANCOVAs in a 6-month pre-test/post-test controlled trial. Interviews using standardised measures were completed with caregivers. Results: Pre/post data were collected for 93 caregivers receiving MCSP and 74 receiving UC. No statistically significant differences on the outcome measures were found overall. At a country level MC caregivers in Italy showed significant better general mental health (p = 0.04, d = 0.55) and less caregiver distress (p = 0.02, d = 0.62) at post-test than the UC group. Caregiver satisfaction was rated on a sample at 3 months (n = 81) and 6 months (n = 84). The majority of caregivers reported feeling less burdened and more supported by participating in MCSP. Conclusion: The moderate positive effect on sense of competence and the greater mental health benefit for lonely caregivers using the MCSP compared to UC as found in the original Dutch studies were not replicated. However, subject to study limitations, caregivers in Italy using MCSP benefitted more regarding their mental health and emotional distress than caregivers using UC. Further evaluation of the benefits of MCSP within these countries in larger study samples is recommended.

Objectives Within an implementation study, we investigated the effectiveness of a combined community-based day care programme for persons with dementia and their carers versus traditional psychogeriatric nursing home-based day care. The effects on needs, sense of competence, burden and quality of life of the family carers were studied. Methods A pretest–posttest control group design among family carers of people with dementia who joined community-based day care centres ( n = 67) or nursing home-based day care centres ( n = 64). Results After six months, family carers using community-based day care more often expressed an unmet need for support regarding psychological distress than carers utilising nursing home-based day care. No effect of community-based day care on sense of competence was found. However, carers with a low sense of competence at baseline using community-based compared to nursing home-based day care became less emotionally burdened by behaviour and mood problems of their relative. Conclusion and discussion: Overall, no added value of community-based day care on needs, sense of competence, burden and quality of life was found. Increased unmet needs on psychological distress may have been caused by the increased awareness of carers participating in the carer programme of community-based day care regarding their own unmet support needs. For carers with a low sense of competence, community-based day care proves to decrease the impact of behaviour and mood problems of their relative. A larger controlled follow-up study is recommended to understand the long-term effects of community-based day care over nursing home-based day care.

Purpose There are few interventions on an individual basis to support community-dwelling people with dementia to continue to fulfill their potential in society and to support their informal caregivers via e-Health. This study explored the effectiveness of the individualized Meeting Centers Support Program (iMCSP) consisting of DemenTalent (people with dementia work as volunteers in a society based on their talents), Dementelcoach (telephone coaching), and STAR e-Learning for caregivers, compared to regular MCSP and No day care support. Method An explorative randomized controlled trial with pre/post measurements (M0-M6) and two groups (iMCSP and regular MCSP). In addition, a comparison was made between iMCSP and a reference No day care control group. Standardized questionnaires were administered on self-esteem, neuropsychiatric symptoms, experienced autonomy and quality of life of the person with dementia, and on caregiver’s sense of competence, quality of life, and happiness. Results The iMCSP interventions resulted in a broader group of participants utilizing the Meeting Centers. Compared to regular MCSP, DemenTalent had a moderate positive effect on neuropsychiatric symptoms, which also proved less severe. Positive affect of participants improved within the DemenTalent and regular MCSP group after six months. Caregivers of DemenTalent participants experienced less emotional impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms. No differences were found in experienced burden, sense of competence, or quality of life in caregivers using iMCSP or regular MCSP. Compared to those receiving No day care support, caregivers of DemenTalent participants and caregivers using Dementelcoach or STAR e-Learning proved happier. Post-hoc analyses, accounting for potential between-group differences in outcome measures at baseline, generally showed results in the same direction. People with dementia and caregivers highly appreciated iMCSP and regular MCSP. Conclusion iMCSP can be effectively applied as alternative or additional support via regular Meeting Centers for people with dementia and caregivers who prefer individualized activities/support. DemenTalent decreased the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms of people with dementia and emotional burden of caregivers. All iMCSP interventions tended to result in caregivers being happier compared to those receiving no support. Larger-scale studies are needed to investigate the effect of iMCSP on other domains of quality of life of participants.

Background:Previous research shows that museum programs can be beneficial for the quality of life of people with dementia. This study evaluated the implementation of “Unforgettable,” an interactive museum program for people with dementia and their caregivers in the Netherlands, and investigated the impact of the program's implementation on the museums as an organization and on the attitudes toward dementia of the museum staff.Method:Semi-structured interviews were held with 23 stakeholders to identify facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the Unforgettable program in 12 Dutch museums. Based on the model of Meiland et al. (2004), an overview is made of factors influencing the different levels and phases of the implementation process. The impact of Unforgettable on the attitudes of the museum staff was assessed using the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (n = 176).Results:The training in the Unforgettable method, regular evaluation with the program guides and hosts, and cooperation with other organizations appeared essential for successful implementation of Unforgettable. A lack of promotional activities was an impeding factor. Compared to before the implementation, the museum employees’ attitudes toward people with dementia became more positive.Conclusion:Both successful dissemination of the Unforgettable program and the more positive attitudes toward dementia of employees in museums implementing this program can contribute to the social participation of people with dementia and thereby to their quality of life.

In Europe, 10 million people are living with dementia. Most of them reside in their own home, cared for by their loved ones. As a consequence, there is a great need to provide both, people with dementia and their carers, tailored support. The Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP), adaptively implemented in three European countries within the JPND-MEETINGDEM project, is an excellent example of an effective dyadic psychosocial intervention, which seems to have no cultural barriers. The mixed-methods analysis showed that participant-dyads reported great satisfaction with MCSP. People with dementia experienced improvement of their quality of life, motivation and ability to participate in everyday activities, as well as improvement in their relationship with family members. Carers felt less burdened and highly appreciated the emotional and social support they received. Repeated user evaluation shows that this dyadic support effectively helps people with dementia and their families better deal with dementia.

The Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technology, INDUCT, is a Marie Sklodowska Curie funded International Training Network that aims to develop a multi-disciplinary, inter-sectorial educational research framework for Europe to improve technology and care for people with dementia, and to provide the evidence to show how technology can improve the lives of people with dementia. Within INDUCT (2016-2020) 15 Early Stage Researchers worked on projects in the areas of Technology to support every day life; technology to promote meaningful activities; and health care technology.Three transversal objectives were adopted by INDUCT: 1) To determine the practical, cognitive and social factors needed to make technology more useable for people with dementia; 2) To evaluate the effectiveness of specific contemporary technology; and 3) To trace facilitators and barriers for implementation of technology in dementia care.The main recommendations resulting from the research projects are integrated in a web-based digital Best Practice Guidance on Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia which will be presented at the congress. The recommendations are meant to be helpful for different target groups, i.e. people with dementia, their formal and informal carers, policy makers, designers and researchers, who can easily select the for them relevant recommendations in the Best Practice Guidance by means of a selection tool. The main aim of the Best Practice Guidance is to improve the development, usage and implementation of technology for people with dementia in the three mentioned technology areas.This Best Practice Guidance is the result of the intensive collaborative partnership of INDUCT with academic and non-academic partners as well as the involvement of representatives of the different target groups throughout the INDUCT project.Acknowledgements: The research presented was carried out within the Marie Sklodowska Curie International Training Network (ITN) action, H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015, grant agreement number 676265.

BACKGROUND: Physical exercise benefits functioning, health, and well-being. However, people living with dementia in particular hardly engage in exercise. Exergaming (exercise and gaming) is an innovative, fun, and relatively safe way of exercising in a virtual reality or gaming environment. It may help people living with dementia overcome barriers they can experience regarding regular exercise activities.OBJECTIVE: This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of the cost-effectiveness of exergaming and its effects on physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning, as well as the quality of life in people living with dementia.METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science Core Collection were searched. Selection of studies was carried out by at least two independent researchers.RESULTS: Three studies were found to be eligible and were included in this review. Two of these showed some statistically significant effects of exergaming on physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning in people living with dementia, although based on a very small sample. No articles were found about the cost-effectiveness of exergaming.CONCLUSIONS: Only a few controlled studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of exergaming, and these show very little significant benefits. More well-designed studies are necessary to examine the effects of exergaming.

Background:In the MEETINGDEM project, the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) was adaptively implemented and evaluated in three European countries: Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to investigate overall and country-specific facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP in these European countries.Methods:A qualitative multiple case study design was used. Based on the theoretical model of adaptive implementation, a checklist was composed of potential facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP. This checklist was administered among stakeholders involved in the implementation of MCSP to trace the experienced facilitators and barriers. Twenty-eight checklists were completed.Results:Main similarities between countries were related to the presence of suitable staff, management, and a project manager, and the fact that the MCSP is attuned to needs and wishes of people with dementia and informal caregivers. Main differences between countries were related to: communication with potential referrers, setting up an inter-organizational collaboration network, receiving support of national organizations, having clear discharge criteria for the MCSP and continuous PR in the region.Conclusion:The results of this study provide insight into generic and country specific factors that can influence the implementation of MCSP in different European countries. This study informs further implementation and dissemination of MCSP in Europe and may also serve as an example for the dissemination and implementation of other effective psychosocial support interventions for people with dementia and their informal caregivers across and beyond Europe.

Objectives: MEETINGDEM investigated whether the Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) could be implemented in Italy, Poland, and the UK with comparable benefits. This paper reports on the impact on people living with dementia attending pilot Meeting Centres in the 3 countries.\ud Methods: Nine pilot Meeting Centres (MCs) participated (Italy—5, Poland—2, UK—2). Effec- tiveness of MCSP was compared with Usual Care (UC) on outcomes measuring behavioural and psychological symptoms (NPI), depression (CSDD), and quality of life (DQoL, QOL‐AD), analysed by ANCOVAs in a 6‐month pre‐test/post‐test controlled trial.\ud Results: Pre/post data were collected for 85 people with dementia and 93 carers (MCSP) and 74 people with dementia /carer dyads' receiving UC. MCSP showed significant positive effects for DQoL [Self‐esteem (F = 4.8, P = 0.03); Positive Affect (F = 14.93, P < 0.00); Feelings of Belong- ing (F = 7.77, P = 0.01)] with medium and large effect sizes. Higher attendance levels correlated with greater neuropsychiatric symptom reduction (rho = 0.24, P = 0.03) and a greater increase in feelings of support (rho = 0.36, P = 0.001).\ud Conclusions: MCSPs showed significant wellbeing and health benefits compared with UC, building on the evidence of effectiveness from the Netherlands. In addition to the previously reported successful implementation of MCSP in Italy, Poland, and the UK, these findings suggest that further international dissemination of MCSP is recommended.

Objectives: To investigate whether community-based (CO) day care with carer support according to the proven effective Meeting Centres Support Programme model is associated with higher satisfaction of people with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers (CG) and with a higher job satisfaction among care staff compared to traditional nursing home-based (NH) day care. Method: Data were collected in 11 NH day care centres and 11 CO day care centres. User satisfaction of PwD and CG was evaluated in the 11 NH day care centres (nPwD = 41, nCG = 39) and 11 CO day care centres (nPwD = 28, nCG = 36) with a survey after six months of participation. Job satisfaction was measured only in the six NH day care centres that recently transformed to CO day care, with two standard questionnaires before (nSTAFF = 35), and six months after the transition (nSTAFF = 35). Results: PwD were more positive about the communication and listening skills of staff and the atmosphere and activities at the CO day care centre. Also, CG valued the communication with, and expertise of, staff in CO day care higher, and were more satisfied with the received emotional, social and practical support. After the transition, satisfaction of staff with the work pace increased, but satisfaction with learning opportunities decreased. Conclusion: PwD and CG were more satisfied about the communication with the staff and the received support in CO day care than in NH day care. Overall job satisfaction was not higher, except satisfaction about work pace.

Objective: To evaluate outcomes for persons with dementia and primary informal caregivers of 2 types of implemented case management (intensive case management [ICMM] and linkage [LM] models) with no case management (control group).Design: A pragmatic trial using a prospective, observational, controlled, cohort study.Setting: Community care in the Netherlands.Participants: A total of 521 dyads.Intervention: Case management provided within one care organization (ICMM), case management where multiple case management organizations are present within one region (LM), and a group with no access to case management (control).Measurements: Neuropsychiatric problems in persons with dementia assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and psychological health in informal caregivers as measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Secondary outcomes included care and support needs, quality of life, and institutionalization. Comparability of groups at baseline was secured by inverse-propensity-score-weighted mixed models.Results: No significant differences in changes in total NPI or GHQ-12 scores between the groups over 2 years were found. Secondary outcomes showed better quality-of-life scores for informal caregivers in the ICMM than the LM. Total needs, met and unmet care needs were significantly less in the ICMM compared with the control group.Conclusion: Neither case management type affected clinical outcomes of dyads meaningfully. The ICMM has positive impact on caregivers' quality of life and patient's number of needs compared with persons in LM and persons without access to case management respectively. (C) 2015 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

Background:The “pathway to care” concept offers a helpful framework for preparing national dementia plans and strategies and provides a structure to explore the availability and accessibility of timely and effective care for people with dementia and support for their informal carers. Within the framework of the JPND-MEETINGDEM implementation project the pathways to regular day-care activities and the Meeting Centers Support Programme (MCSP), an innovative combined support form for people with dementia and carers, was explored.Methods:An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative, cross-country design was applied to investigate the pathways to day care in several regions in four European countries (Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands).Results:Before implementation of MCSP, of the four countries the United Kingdom had the most structured pathway to post-diagnostic support for people with dementia. MCSP introduction had a positive impact on the pathways to day-care activities in all countries. MCSP filled an important gap in post-diagnostic care, increasing the accessibility to support for both people with dementia and carers. Key elements such as program of activities, target group, and collaboration between healthcare and social services were recognized as success factors.Conclusions:This study shows that MCSP fills (part of) the gap between diagnosis and residential care and can therefore be seen as a pillar of post-diagnostic care and support. Further dissemination of Meeting Centers in Europe may have a multiple impact on the structure of dementia services in European countries and the pathways to day care for people with dementia and their carer(s).

Background: The MEETINGDEM study aims to implement and evaluate an innovative, inclusive, approach to supporting community dwelling people with mild to moderate dementia and their family carers, called the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP), in three countries in the European Union (EU): Italy, Poland and United Kingdom. Demonstrated benefits of this person-centered approach, developed in The Netherlands, include high user satisfaction, reduced behavioral and mood problems, delayed admission to residential care, lower levels of caregiving-related stress, higher carer competence, and improved collaboration between care and welfare organizations. Methods: The project will be carried out over a 36 month period. Project partners in the three countries will utilize, and adapt, strategies and tools developed in the Netherlands. In Phase One (month 1-18) activities will focus on establishing an initiative group of relevant organizations and user representatives in each country, exploring pathways to care and potential facilitators and barriers to implementing the program, and developing country specific implementation plans and materials. In Phase Two (month 19‑36) training will be provided to organizations and staff, after which the meeting centers will be established and evaluated for impact on behavior, mood and quality of life of people with dementia and carers, cost-effectiveness, changes in service use, user satisfaction and implementation process. Discussion: An overall evaluation will draw together findings from the three countries to develop recommendations for successful implementation of MCSP across the EU. If the Meeting Centers approach can be widely implemented, this could lead to major improvements in dementia care across Europe and beyond. Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered in May 2016: trial number: NTR5936 .

Background: With the expected increase in the numbers of persons with dementia, providing timely, adequate, and affordable care and support is challenging. Assistive and health technologies may be a valuable contribution in dementia care, but new challenges may emerge.\ud \ud \ud Objective: The aim of our study was to review the state of the art of technologies for persons with dementia regarding issues on development, usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, deployment, and ethics in 3 fields of application of technologies: (1) support with managing everyday life, (2) support with participating in pleasurable and meaningful activities, and (3) support with dementia health and social care provision. The study also aimed to identify gaps in the evidence and challenges for future research.\ud \ud \ud Methods: Reviews of literature and expert opinions were used in our study. Literature searches were conducted on usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and ethics using PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases with no time limit. Selection criteria in our selected technology fields were reviews in English for community-dwelling persons with dementia. Regarding deployment issues, searches were done in Health Technology Assessment databases.\ud \ud \ud Results: According to our results, persons with dementia want to be included in the development of technologies; there is little research on the usability of assistive technologies; various benefits are reported but are mainly based on low-quality studies; barriers to deployment of technologies in dementia care were identified, and ethical issues were raised by researchers but often not studied. Many challenges remain such as including the target group more often in development, performing more high-quality studies on usability and effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, creating and having access to high-quality datasets on existing technologies to enable adequate deployment of technologies in dementia care, and ensuring that ethical issues are considered an important topic for researchers to include in their evaluation of assistive technologies.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions: Based on these findings, various actions are recommended for development, usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, deployment, and ethics of assistive and health technologies across Europe. These include avoiding replication of technology development that is unhelpful or ineffective and focusing on how technologies succeed in addressing individual needs of persons with dementia. Furthermore, it is suggested to include these recommendations in national and international calls for funding and assistive technology research programs. Finally, practitioners, policy makers, care insurers, and care providers should work together with technology enterprises and researchers to prepare strategies for the implementation of assistive technologies in different care settings. This may help future generations of persons with dementia to utilize available and affordable technologies and, ultimately, to benefit from them.

Objectives: The implementation of new health services is a complex process. This study investigated the first phase of the adaptive implementation of the Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) for people with dementia and their carers in three European countries (Italy, Poland, the UK) within the JPND-MEETINGDEM project. Anticipated and experienced factors influencing the implementation, and the efficacy of the implementation process, were investigated. Findings were compared with previous research in the Netherlands. Method: A qualitative multiple case study design was applied. Checklist on anticipated facilitators and barriers to the implementation and semi-structured interview were completed by stakeholders, respectively at the end and at the beginning of the preparation phase. Results: Overall, few differences between countries were founded. Facilitators for all countries were: added value of MCSP matching needs of the target group, evidence of effectiveness of MCSP, enthusiasm of stakeholders. General barriers were: competition with existing care and welfare organizations and scarce funding. Some countries experienced improved collaborations, others had difficulties finding a socially integrated location for MCSP. The step-by-step implementation method proved efficacious. Conclusion: These insights into factors influencing the implementation of MCSP in three European countries and the efficacy of the step-by-step preparation may aid further implementation of MCSP in Europe

ObjectivesThe objective of this article was to compare the costs and cost-effectiveness of the two most prominent types of case management in the Netherlands (intensive case management and linkage models) against no access to case management (control group) for people with already diagnosed dementia and their informal caregivers.MethodsThe economic evaluation was conducted from a societal perspective embedded within a two year prospective, observational, controlled, cohort study with 521 informal caregivers and community-dwelling persons with dementia. Case management provided within one care organization (intensive case management model, ICMM), case management where care was provided by different care organizations within one region (Linkage model, LM), and a group with no access to case management (control) were compared. The economic evaluation related incremental costs to incremental effects regarding neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI), psychological health of the informal caregiver (GHQ-12), and quality adjusted life years (QALY) of the person with dementia and informal caregiver.ResultsInverse-propensity-score-weighted models showed no significant differences in clinical or total cost outcomes between the three groups. Informal care costs were significantly lower in the ICMM group compared to both other groups. Day center costs were significantly lower in the ICMM group compared to the control group. For all outcomes, the probability that the ICMM was cost-effective in comparison with LM and the control group was larger than 0.97 at a threshold ratio of 0 (sic)/incremental unit of effect.ConclusionThis study provides preliminary evidence that the ICMM is cost-effective compared to the control group and the LM. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution since this study was not a randomized controlled trial.

Background:Several studies have shown that the combined community-based Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) for people with mild to moderate dementia and their carers were more effective in reducing behavior and mood problems of people with dementia than traditional nursing home-based (NH) day care. We therefore investigated in this study whether community-based (CO) psychogeriatric day care for people with mild to severe dementia combined with carer support (in accordance with the MCSP), is more effective than regular NH day care.Methods:A pre-test–post-test control group design was used to compare the effect of CO and NH day care on care needs, behavior and mood problems, and quality of life of people with dementia. 138 dyads of people with mild to severe dementia and family carers participated in the study: 70 from (new and longer existing) CO day cares (experimental group), and 68 from NH day cares (control group). ANCOVAs were performed at post-tests, including baseline data as covariates.Results:After six months, no overall differences on outcome measures were found between CO and NH day cares. However, participants of recently started CO day cares showed fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms, whereas carers in the longer existing CO day cares reported fewer care needs compared to the control group (large effects). Persons with dementia cohabiting with their carer benefitted most from CO day care.Conclusions:This study shows that combined CO day care has promising added value compared to NH day care, especially for participants with dementia cohabiting with their carer.

MEETINGDEM focussed on the adaptive implementation and evaluation of the successful Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) for community dwelling people with dementia and their carers. MEETINGDEM took the learning from the Dutch experience to assess whether it would work in Italy, Poland and UK. Each country established at least two Meeting Centres (MC). Implementation facilitators and barriers were inventoried. User satisfaction, cost effectiveness and effectiveness was compared to usual care (UC) and evaluated in a 7 months pre/post controlled trial. 13 MC’s were successfully implemented. Users reported high satisfaction. After six months MC participants showed significant positive effects on QoL (self-esteem, positive affect and feelings of belonging). No significant differences were found for depression or social inclusion. MC carers reported significantly reduced loneliness. MC costs, including intervention costs, were higher than those in the UC group, showing that the benefits of MCSP are associated with additional costs.

To support the growing number of community-dwelling persons with dementia, alternative solutions, such as assistive technologies, are needed. In the European Rosetta Project, three separate ICT systems were improved, integrated, and evaluated with the objective to create one modular system that helps community-dwelling people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in different stages of the disease to retain their autonomy and quality of life that postpones institutional care and that supports the carers. The Rosetta system integrates the systems Elderly Day Navigator (EDN), Early Detection System (EDS), and Unattended Autonomous Surveillance-Advanced Awareness and Prevention System (UAS-AAPS). EDN supports persons in daily functioning in the areas of memory, social contact, daily activities, and safety; EDS monitors daily behavior and timely detects changes in functioning; and UAS-AAPS automatically detects emergency situations (like falls) and generates alarms to carers. The development of the system took place in close cooperation with persons with severe cognitive impairments/dementia, informal and professional carers, and dementia experts. The final prototype was tested in a controlled field trial with persons with severe cognitive impairments or dementia in three countries. The results from the evaluation study show that participants positively valued the usefulness of the system, but that the user-friendliness could be improved. Though there were no statistically significant effects on outcome measures in this explorative small-scale trial, participants indicated that the Rosetta system changed their lives in some ways, for instance, by structuring the day and by improving feelings of safety and security. Participants had no ethical concerns regarding the (visibility and application of) sensors and cameras. Future implementation of the Rosetta system may (cost-)effectively support the growing number of community-dwelling persons with dementia during the mild and more severe stages of the disease. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017.

Background:The aim was to develop an evidence-based model that focuses specifically on factors that enable the provision of personalized care to facilitate and promote the implementation of community-based personalized dementia care interventions. The model is based on our previous research and additional literature.Methods:The theoretical model of adaptive implementation was used as a framework to structure our model. Facilitators and barriers considered relevant for personalized care were extracted from our studies and additional literature, and were synthesized into the new evidence-based implementation model and checklist for personalized dementia care in the community.Results:Extraction of data led to a composition of an evidence-based model for the implementation of personalized psychosocial care interventions that incorporates core components of personalized care. The model addresses several issues, e.g. how personalized care interventions should be offered and to whom; whether these are able to adapt to personal characteristics and needs of clients and informal caregivers; and whether both organizational management and staff that provide the intervention support personalized care and are able to focus on providing individualized care.Conclusions:Our model provides a checklist for researchers, professional caregivers, and policy-makers who wish to develop, evaluate, or implement personalized care interventions.

The Meeting Centre Support Programme (MCSP) is a community-based approach to supporting people with mild to moderate dementia and their families, developed in the Netherlands where they are now widespread. Evaluation studies showed benefits including reduced behavioural and mood problems, delayed admission to residential care, higher levels of carer competence and lower levels of burden. The JPND funded MeetingDem project aimed to implement and evaluate Meeting Centres in the UK, Italy and Poland. Our evaluation adopted a before and after control group design with matched patient-carer dyads. In each country we compared a minimum of 25 dyads using the MCSP with 25 receiving ‘usual care. Baseline data were collected at month 1 with a follow up at month 7. Validated measures were used to assess quality of life, depression, social support and caregiver competence. Data were also collected on intervention costs and the use of other services in order to allow a cost effectiveness analysis. Finally, surveys and focus groups were used to evaluate user satisfaction with the MCSP. Initial findings suggest significant effects for MCSP compared to usual care, including reduced behavioural problems and improved caregiver coping. This presentation will describe the MCSP approach, present the full evaluation findings and consider the potential for wider implementation.