Not re-inventing the wheel: the adaptive implementation of the meeting centres support programme in four European countries

Abstract

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.

Evaluation of the implementation of the Meeting Centres Support Program in Italy, Poland, and the UK; exploration of the effects on people with dementia

“…The analysis also undertook numerous tests of significance and multiple comparisons. However, the current study was designed primarily as an implementation study where much of the time and energy was put in realising at least 2 MCs in each country who provided the full MCSP were piloted and evaluated. Consequently, larger samples with blind assessment were not possible in this study.…”

“…Pilot MCs were successfully provided in specific geographic local communities in all 3 countries during 2015 to 2016, following a 12‐month period of collaborative community engagement and preparatory work according to the Dutch step‐wise implementation procedure . This included 5 MCs in Italy (Lombardia and Emilia‐Romagna regions), 2 in Poland (Wroclaw region), and 2 in the UK (Central England).…”

“…The adaptive implementation involved translating MCSP concepts and practicalities into a new country context. After exploring pathways to care, pilot MCs were successfully implemented in all countries in 2015 following a 12‐month period of collaborative community engagement and adaptation . Within each participating country, a national project team conducted a standardised implementation study and assessed the impacts on people living with dementia and their family carers to ascertain if the results were comparable with those found in the Netherlands.…”

Facilitators and barriers to adaptive implementation of the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) in three European countries; the process evaluation within the MEETINGDEM study

“…Based on the Dutch experiences, a checklist was used to inventory potential facilitators and barriers and to discuss possible effective implementation strategies. This was part of a step-by-step implementation procedure, that appeared feasible and supportive (Mangiaracina et al, 2017). It helped stakeholders to develop effective strategies in their own context and region.…”

“…However, future MCSP's that will be set up can benefit from the developed country specific implementation plans in the MEETINGDEM project and the practical implementation guides. The last will be developed based on the results of this study, as well as the previous study by Mangiaracina et al (2017).…”