There is a growing need for new alternatives that are more affordable and offer greater social and community integration for the care of people with cognitive impairment or dementia and their caregivers. One of these alternatives, the Meeting Centres Support Programme, will be covered throughout the course, from its working methodology to its implementation.

In view of the new challenges associated with population ageing, there is a growing need for new alternatives that are more affordable and offer greater social and community integration for the care of people with cognitive impairment or dementia and their caregivers. This course aims to introduce students to the working methodology of the Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) for people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia (in mild to moderate stages) and their caregivers, as well as to describe and illustrate the steps required for its implementation. The MCSP is a care alternative through which improvements have been identified in the quality of life and mental health of people living with dementia and their family members/caregivers, as well as a reduction in the level of caregiver burden. The course consists of five modules covering the introduction to the programme, its added value, and its three implementation phases: preparation, launch, and continuation. It is intended for stakeholders interested in implementing and adapting the methodology to their different contexts, and therefore includes steps such as identifying facilitators and barriers to the implementation process, describing the basic characteristics that both the programme for people with dementia and the programme for caregivers should have, videos illustrating the activities carried out in meeting centres in different European countries, as well as a guide or manual containing all the information step by step and by phase.

Methodology

E-learning, self-directed learning: The student will be able to complete the modules through videos in which the different speakers will explain, step by step, the working methodology and the implementation process of the Meeting Centres. At the end of the course, the student must pass an exam that will assess the knowledge acquired.

Speakers

Rose-Marie Dröes
Amsterdam UMC

Manuel Ángel Franco Martín
University of Salamanca

Mauricio Molinari Ulate
Intras

  • Masterclass Duration: 9min
    "Introduction to the program I"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 14min
    "Introduction to the program II"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 13min
    "Added value"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 11min
    "Preparation phase I"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 9min
    "Preparation phase II"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 12min
    "Launch phase I"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 11min
    "Launch phase II"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation
  • Masterclass Duration: 8min
    "Continuation phase"
    Mauricio Molinari Ulate, Intras Foundation

Bibliography:

  • Brooker, D., Evans, S., Evans, S., Bray, J., Saibene, F. L., Scorolli, C., . . . Droes, R. M. (2018). Evaluation of the implementation of the Meeting Centres Support Program in Italy, Poland, and the UK; exploration of the effects on people with dementia. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 33(7), 883-892. doi:10.1002/gps.4865
  • Dröes, R. M., Breebaart, E., Ettema, T. P., van Tilburg, W., & Mellenbergh, G. J. (2000). Effect of integrated family support versus day care only on behavior and mood of patients with dementia. Int Psychogeriatr, 12(1), 99-115. doi:10.1017/s1041610200006232
  • Dröes, R. M., Breebaart, E., Meiland, F. J., Van Tilburg, W., & Mellenbergh, G. J. (2004). Effect of Meeting Centres Support Program on feelings of competence of family carers and delay of institutionalization of people with dementia. Aging Ment Health, 8(3), 201-211. doi:10.1080/13607860410001669732
  • Dröes, R. M., Meiland, F., De Lange, J., vernooij-Dassen, M., & van Tilburg, W. (2003). The Meeting Centres Support Programme: An Effective Way of Supporting People with Dementia who Live at Home and their Carers. Dementia, 2(3), 426-433. doi: 0.1177/14713012030023011
  • Dröes, R. M., Meiland, F., Schmitz, M., & van Tilburg, W. (2004). Effect of combined support for people with dementia and carers versus regular day care on behaviour and mood of persons with dementia: results from a multi-centre implementation study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 19(7), 673-684. doi:10.1002/gps.1142
  • Droes, R. M., Meiland, F. J., Schmitz, M. J., & van Tilburg, W. (2006). Effect of the Meeting Centres Support Program on informal carers of people with dementia: results from a multi-centre study. Aging Ment Health, 10(2), 112-124. doi:10.1080/13607860500310682
  • Dröes, R. M., van Rijn, A., Rus, E., Dacier, S., & Meiland, F. (2019). Utilization, effect, and benefit of the individualized Meeting Centers Support Program for people with dementia and caregivers. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 26(14), 1527-1553. doi:10.2147/CIA.S212852
  • Evans, S., Evans, S., Brooker, D., Henderson, C., Szczesniak, D., Atkinson, T., . . . Droes, R. M. (2020). The impact of the implementation of the Dutch combined Meeting Centres Support Programme for family caregivers of people with dementia in Italy, Poland and UK. Aging Ment Health, 24(2), 280-290. doi:10.1080/13607863.2018.1544207
  • Mangiaracina, F., Chattat, R., Farina, E., Saibene, F. L., Gamberini, G., Brooker, D., . . . Meiland, F. J. (2017). Not re-inventing the wheel: the adaptive implementation of the meeting centres support programme in four European countries. Aging Ment Health, 21(1), 40-48. doi:10.1080/13607863.2016.1258540
  • Meiland, F. J., Dröes, R. M., De Lange, J., & Vernooij-Dassen, M. J. (2004). Development of a theoretical model for tracing facilitators and barriers in adaptive implementation of innovative practices in dementia care. Arch Gerontol Geriatr Suppl(9), 279-290. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2004.04.038
  • Meiland, F. J., Dröes, R. M., de Lange, J., & Vernooij-Dassen, M. J. (2005). Facilitators and barriers in the implementation of the meeting centres model for people with dementia and their carers. Health Policy, 71(2), 243-253. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2004.08.011
  • Szczesniak, D., Rymaszewska, J., Saibene, F. L., Lion, K. M., D'Arma, A., Brooker, D., . . . Farina, E. (2021). Meeting centres support programme highly appreciated by people with dementia and carers: a European cross-country evaluation. Aging Ment Health, 25(1), 149-159. doi:10.1080/13607863.2019.1683814
  • Van Mierlo, L. D., Chattat, R., Evans, S., Brooker, D., Saibene, F. L., Gamberini, G., . . . Meiland, F. J. M. (2018). Facilitators and barriers to adaptive implementation of the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) in three European countries; the process evaluation within the MEETINGDEM study. Int Psychogeriatr, 30(4), 527-537. doi:10.1017/S1041610217001922