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Activity toolkit aims to inspire conversation, creativity in adults with dementia
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Researchers from the University of Stirling are collaborating with Artlink Central to develop an activity toolkit to encourage creativity in individuals with dementia.
The toolkit is designed for use by staff in daycare and residential care settings to support individuals with dementia by creating conversation and reminiscence.
The first activity is garden-themed and provides eight topics to prompt conversation and activities including drawing, coloring, collage, planting and designing gardens.
Artlink Central plans to develop other activities with popular themes such as food, sports, music and movies.
Funding from the Scottish Funding Council's Innovation Voucher Scheme will enable researchers to assess the toolkit’s benefits.
“The toolkit aims to bring a number of benefits to people living with dementia by encouraging constructive conversations on a range of topics, engaging with personal histories and building social connections in care centers,” study researcher Jane Robertson, MA, MSc, PhD, of the University of Stirling, Scotland, said in a press release. “We'll assess whether the toolkit delivers in these key areas and recommend how the product can be enhanced to ensure we achieve the best possible results for people living with dementia. We will be partnering with local organizations to test the toolkit in daycare centers and residential care homes.”
Robertson and colleagues hope to roll out the toolkit this summer “and help strengthen the relationship between the arts, health and care sectors.”