OT professor and colleagues publish paper on dementia-friendly communities

By Kate Hunger 

 

Occupational Therapy Clinical Assistant Professor Laura Novak, OTD, OTR, BCG, is the lead author of an article on dementia-friendly communities that was published in Current Geriatrics Reports in August.

Novak’s co-authors are third-year occupational therapy student Elizabeth Horne, Jennifer R. Brackett, special events coordinator for the Caring for the Caregiver program with the School of Nursing; Kylie Meyer, a post-doctoral researcher with Caring for the Caregiver; and Rebecca M. Ajtai, senior librarian and liaison to the School of Health Professions.

The article, “Dementia-Friendly Communities: a Review of Current Literature and Reflections on Implementation,” shares current research trends on dementia-friendly communities, including evaluation methods, priorities identified by people living with dementia, and dementia-friendly initiatives. The authors also share the experience and process establishing a dementia-friendly community in San Antonio.

“We looked at what was happening globally with the establishment of dementia-friendly communities,” Novak said. “This is something happening in numerous countries around the world, and we are all trying to learn from each other.”

The Dementia Friendly America movement defines a dementia-friendly community as “a village, town, city, or county that is informed, safe, and respectful of individuals with the disease, their families and caregivers and provides supportive options that foster quality of life.”

San Antonio achieved official designation as a dementia-friendly community in 2019 from Dementia Friendly America. Novak said research is underway to learn about perceived needs from various stakeholders.

“We continue to look at ways to educate various sectors on dementia awareness,” she said. “These sectors include groups such as first responders, businesses, financial institutions, and religious organizations, among others.”

Novak hopes the article will make clear that creating dementia-friendly communities is about finding ways to integrate people living with dementia into existing communities rather than creating separate places.

“We want to find ways to optimize their contribution to society by seeing past the dementia and valuing the person,” she said. “It is vital that we learn from all stakeholders, especially persons living with dementia, in order to create communities in which they will thrive.”