Plenary Session 3: The importance and value of psychosocial care in dementia in historical perspective, with reflection and commentary

Abstract

Overview: Prof. Drӧes will discuss the importance and value of psychosocial care and support for people with dementia and their informal carers. She will look back at new insights that have emerged in this field over the past decades through (inter)national research and practice innovation. For example, the importance of sufficient activation in long-term care facilities, insights into the causes of behavioral and mood disruptions in dementia and the influence of interaction with the environment on this, the importance of integrative person-centered care, in line with the needs and what is relevant for the individual person's quality of life, and the importance of good combined support for people with dementia and their careers, as shaped among others by the successful Meeting Centres Support Programme. Also the potential of assistive technology will be addressed. The lecture will conclude with a look at the future, the further development of psychosocial care in dementia through research, but also through education, and connection and exchange with practice, which are prerequisites for the successful implementation of innovations.