<p>Care Farming for People with Dementia; What Can Healthcare Leaders Learn from This Innovative Care Concept?</p>

Abstract

There is growing recognition that traditional dementia care models fall short for people with dementia and their family caregivers. This has led to a call for new dementia care approaches. In response to this call, innovations in long-term dementia care are taking place both in the community and in residential care. One of these innovations is the care concept called "care farming." Care farms are farms that combine agricultural activities with care and support services for a variety of client groups, including people with dementia. Although the concept is being implemented in an increasing number of countries, the Netherlands and Norway are still front-runners in providing and researching this innovative dementia care approach. Over the last couple of years, several research projects have been carried out in these countries addressing a wide range of issues related to dementia care provision at care farms and using a wide range of research methods. This paper synthesizes the knowledge that has been generated in these research projects. By sharing the knowledge obtained in the Netherlands and Norway, we hope to inspire leaders in healthcare undertaking similar efforts to innovate care for the increasing number of people with dementia. By providing starting-points for future research, we additionally hope to contribute to a research agenda to further advance the field.

Emotional well‐being in people with dementia – A comparative study of farm‐based and regular day care services in Norway

“…FDCs use the farm setting and farm resources actively, for example through using farm activities as a part of the service (Ibsen et al, 2018). This is similar to how the farm is used as a day care setting for people with dementia in other countries, such as in the Netherlands (de Bruin et al, 2020), the UK (Bragg et al, 2014) and Japan (Ura et al, 2021).…”

Social Farming in Czechia, Actors and Barriers

“…The European Commission has developed sets of key features that set out the minimum conditions that an organization must meet to be classified as a social enterprise by the European Commission's definition 2 . The following main features have been identified:…”

Human Rights to Inclusive Living and Care for Older People With Mental Health Conditions

“…Originated outside the healthcare sector, green care farms combine agricultural with care activities and aim to enable independence and participation of clients for as long as possible. 38,39 Green care farms are a widely adopted way in an increasing number of countries, providing day care or respite care for a variety of clients including older persons with MHC-PSD. 38 Green care farming has adopted an environmental approach to care, which supports human rights of older persons with MHC-PSD, especially related to dignity, freedom, and individuality.…”

“…38,39 Green care farms are a widely adopted way in an increasing number of countries, providing day care or respite care for a variety of clients including older persons with MHC-PSD. 38 Green care farming has adopted an environmental approach to care, which supports human rights of older persons with MHC-PSD, especially related to dignity, freedom, and individuality. The Netherlands is leading in designing green care farms with 24-hour care services as alternative to traditional nursing homes.…”