Changing the Way We Look at Dementia

The "Dementia Friends" initiative is the centerpiece of a grass-roots effort by 35 organizations across the U.S. to educate people about Alzheimer's disease and other kinds of dementia to improve public understanding, reports Kaiser Health News . Participating in Dementia Friends entails attending an hour-long presentation focused on several themes, including disease versus typical aging, the scope of symptoms, quality of life, and maintaining identity and respect. "If we can change the way people look at dementia and talk about it, we can make a big difference in people's lives," says Philippa Tree, who leads a Dementia Friends program in England and Wales that has licensed its model to the U.S. Dementia Friends USA Project Lead Meredith Hanley notes the program is "about increasing awareness and empathy so that if you encounter someone in the community who needs some help, you have some basic skills." Becoming a Dementia Friend demands that a person commit a tangible action to help people with dementia. "This is a social action movement," says Emily Farah-Miller, executive lead for Minnesota's ACT on Alzheimer's.