The health promotion program for the issue of dementia is to be based on the health promotion strategy, which includes a number of objectives around which this program is to be centered. First of all, people with dementia and their caregivers are to be educated about the condition, which can be achieved with the help of a three-month health promotion intervention suggested by Testad et al. (2020). This intervention is a way for its participants to obtain information on the condition’s peculiarities and consequences and get recommendations on the lifestyle people with dementia are to lead. According to Testad et al. (2020), such interventions lead to positive changes when it came to people with dementia’s cognition and self-efficacy. This intervention can be coupled with the one proposed by Odzakovic et al. (2021): they estimated that the establishment of meaningful meeting places for people with dementia was beneficial for their health and well-being. Such places contribute to individuals’ feeling like they belong and foster their social connectedness.
Among the resources necessary for the implementation of these interventions the crucial one is the attention and participation of the communities – on individual, group, and societal levels. Any given country’s welfare system consists of authorities and organizations that could provide financial resources and public exposure of the problem, whereas voluntary organizations could help with the arrangement and running of public meeting places (Odzakovic et al., 2021). Professionals, carers, and volunteers are to be of help for patients with dementia and inform them about the initiatives, answer their questions, and encourage them to be more active. When it comes to the role of a nurse, one is primarily to ensure that patients understand how important it is to care about their health and to provide the necessary support. The establishment of such a program might take from around six months to a year.
In accordance with the SMART goal approach, the intended outcome is the improvement of patients with dementia’s living conditions. The “relevant” section of the SMART approach states that it is connected to an improvement of the quality of life and a sense of belonging in memory care facilities where patients receive the necessary treatment. Quality of life is a subjective term that refers to one’s feeling of satisfaction and happiness. In its turn, a sense of belonging refers to one feeling comfortable in an environment where they are respected, understood, and surrounded by like-minded people.
The evaluation of all these outcomes is to be based on the surveys and interviews of all members of the community. Patients are to report on whether their lives have changed for the better after the implementation of the program. Healthcare system officials, caregivers, and volunteers are to express what the benefits and drawbacks of the initiative are in their opinion. Availability of the points of view of representatives of all levels of the system will allow for a more objective assessment and help make necessary adjustments.
Finally, in terms of the possible barriers to the project’s implementation, one of them is the stigma around the condition. To address it on a global level, Parra et al. (2019) suggest initiating worldwide projects to raise awareness and enable conversation about the condition and its seriousness. Moreover, when it comes to people with dementia themselves, they are not informed about the benefits of healthy lifestyles for them and might not understand what a difference it makes. The solution is the provision of information on that to patients and their families by healthcare professionals.
References
Odzakovic, E., Hellström, I., Nedlund, A. C., & Kullberg, A. (2021). Health promotion initiative: A dementia-friendly local community in Sweden. Dementia, 20(6), 1971-1987. Web.
Parra, M. A., Butler, S., McGeown, W. J., Nicholls, L. A. B., & Robertson, D. J. (2019). Globalising strategies to meet global challenges: The case of ageing and dementia. Journal of Global Health, 9(2), 020310. Web.
Testad, I., Kajander, M., Gjestsen, M. T., & Dalen, I. (2020). Health promotion intervention for people with early‐stage dementia: A quasi‐experimental study. Brain and Behavior, 10(12), 1-8. Web.