Evaluation of Alzheimer's Australia Vic Memory Lane Cafes

Accessible summary Memory cafés help people without learning disabilities who have dementia. We wanted to know whether memory cafés can help people with learning disabilities and memory problems. We ran a memory café for 12 weeks for people with learning disabilities. We watched how people got on in the café and how happy they looked. We asked people what they thought of the memory café. We also asked their carers. The people who came to the memory café said it helped. They seemed happier each week. Carers said that after the memory café people talked more, were more alert and did more activities at home. Summary Memory cafés have been found to normalise experiences of dementia and provide access to an accepting social network. People with learning disabilities are at increased risk of developing dementia, but the possible benefits of attending a memory café are not known. This study evaluates a 12‐week pilot memory café for people with learning disabilities in terms of adaptations required and benefits of attending. Results indicate that affect levels significantly improved across the course of the café and that communication, interaction, alertness and participation in other activities improved outside the café. Future plans for attendance at memory cafés for people with learning disabilities are discussed.

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“…Similar results have been reported in other parts of the world including Australia and America (e.g. Dow et al 2011;McFadden & Koll 2014).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A pilot memory café for people with Learning Disabilities and memory difficulties

Kiddle

Drew

Crabbe

et al. 2015

Brit J Learn Disabil

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“…However, when considering the disease characteristics of dementia, in which forgetfulness is a central feature, the effect on people with dementia on a monthly basis may be limited. In fact, in recent research on the Alzheimer's café, although it was found to be effective for people with dementia and their families [15], it was mostly effective for the families [13,14]. On the other hand, it has been reported that a support group for people with dementia in the early stage held once a week for 9 consecutive weeks showed positive effects on people with dementia, but not on family members [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the first theme, "Natural attendance of guests and coziness owing to the café setting," it was shown that a dementia café is similar to a usual café where citizens interact through having drinks such as coffee; this was also shown in reports of Alzheimer's and memory cafés [11,12,15]. The time spent in the café played a role in changing the perceptions of the disease that are difficult to face [14,15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dementia cafés could be a type of support group for people with dementia and their families, and much research on these issues has been conducted [31][32][33]. Dementia cafés are, however, expected to exert a different effect compared with previous approaches, in that they involve a relaxed atmosphere where people with dementia and their families can participate and speak freely together [11][12][13][14][15]21]. Dementia cafés may be effective in terms of enabling discussions between specialists and people in the early stages of complex mental diseases similar to the "open dialogue" that is considered to be effective in treating patients with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Dementia Café as a Bridgehead for Community-Inclusive Care: Qualitative Analysis of Observations by On-the-Job Training Participants in a Dementia Café

Takechi

Sugihara

Matsumoto

et al. 2018

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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Background/Aims: Dementia cafés are becoming widespread as a new approach to dementia care, but their operational procedures and significance have not been adequately studied. Methods: On-the-job training (OJT) for professionals planning to operate a dementia café in the future was conducted in a pioneering dementia café in Japan. The reports of OJT trainees’ observations and learning were analyzed qualitatively. Results: Reports could be summarized in up to 9 themes: 2 related to the atmosphere and significance of the café, 3 related to the guests, such as people with dementia and their families, and 4 related to the café staff. Discussion: The results of the present study identified the elements that make up dementia cafés and their significance and suggest that dementia cafés could be a new type of community resource for dementia care in the future.

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“…In recent years, opportunities have emerged to discuss dementia openly in the form of cafés. At such cafés, interested people with dementia, their families, people in the community, medical and care professionals, and local government officials gather and interact [6,7]. These cafés, referred to as Alzheimer's or dementia cafés, have been developed as locations that offer both new approaches to the psychosocial difficulties of dementia and a relaxing place for interaction [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dementia Cafés as Hubs to Promote Community-Integrated Care for Dementia through Enhancement of the Competence of Citizen Volunteer Staff Using a New Assessment Tool

Takechi

Yamamoto²,

Matsunagaa

et al. 2019

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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Introduction: Dementia cafés have recently been attracting attention. The increased involvement of citizen volunteers and the competence of dementia café staff could enhance the potential of dementia cafés. The aim of the present study was to examine enhancement of the competence of citizen volunteers using a new assessment tool. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 433 dementia café staff members, including medical and care professionals and citizen volunteers. A 20-item dementia café staff self-assessment (DCSA) instrument was newly developed. After confirmation of the reliability and validity of the instrument, DCSA scores among citizen volunteers were evaluated. Results: DCSA showed very good psychometric properties. The mean (±SD) DCSA score was significantly higher for café staff with a medical and care professional background (n = 267) than for citizen volunteers (n = 166) (2.2±0.5 vs. 1.7±0.7, respectively; p < 0.001). The DCSA scores of citizen volunteers became significantly higher with increasing attendance (minimum: n = 24; 1.3±0.7; intermediate: n = 65; 1.6±0.6; and frequent: n = 77; 1.8±0.7; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Assessment of the competence of dementia café staff using the DCSA revealed the potential of citizen volunteers. This tool could also enhance the potential of dementia cafés.

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Evaluation of Alzheimer's Australia Vic Memory Lane Cafes

Cited by 10 publications

References 10 publications

A pilot memory café for people with Learning Disabilities and memory difficulties

A pilot memory café for people with Learning Disabilities and memory difficulties

A Dementia Café as a Bridgehead for Community-Inclusive Care: Qualitative Analysis of Observations by On-the-Job Training Participants in a Dementia Café

Dementia Cafés as Hubs to Promote Community-Integrated Care for Dementia through Enhancement of the Competence of Citizen Volunteer Staff Using a New Assessment Tool

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