Innovation: Living Memory reminiscence promenade

Belgium

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (care to older adults, physical exercise)

• Participation in society (social connectedness)

In high income states dementia is the greatest cause of years lost due to disability and there were more than 35 million people living with dementia around the world in 2010. With more than 7 million new cases diagnosed each year it is estimated that the number of people living with the condition will double every 20 years. Improving the quality of life of people who are living with dementia is an area that requires a range of socially innovative solutions that can meet the needs of various groups. People living with dementia who have entered long-term institutional care are at risk of social isolation and being excluded from the normal life of the community but this can change with greater public understanding of the condition.

The Living Memory reminiscence promenade is a social innovation developed by the Weister long-term care institution which was designed to be a dementia-friendly environment in Aalbeke in Flanders. In 2010, Jan Goodaer and colleagues developed the idea of a reminiscence parade that would enable people living with dementia to undertake a walk or be pushed in a wheelchair round a dementia-friendly route that would stimulate people’s memories of the past, provide opportunities for physical activity and social interaction.

In conjunction with the Sophia Dementia Expertise Centre they lobbied the local municipality of Kortrijk to develop a reminiscence promenade consisting of four routes, each of about five kilometres in length, that start and end at the Weister nursing home. With a route alongside less busy roads with low speed limits a dementia-friendly promenade was developed featuring improved accessibility for wheelchairs and dementia-friendly design features. These included numerous benches, reference points that were clearly identifiable and signposted along with places on the route having leaflets about the project and being aware of the usage of the routes.

The project has four main pillars that include the use of the reminiscence promenade to reduce their isolation and exclusion and inter-generational work so that people of all ages can enjoy the walks and the Weister can be more accessible to the local community. The routes improve the mobility of people living with dementia who are encouraged and supported to regularly take the walks and improve access to other local amenities thus increasing integration into the everyday life of the community.

With financial support from the King Baudouin Foundation and the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities the Weister nursing home and the Sophia Dementia Expertise Centre delivered a public education programme to raise public awareness and knowledge of dementia in order to reduce the stigma that is associated with the condition. The reminiscence promenade officially opened in April 2014 and won the European Foundation Initiative on Dementia Award in the same year.

In relation to active ageing indicators, the reminiscence promenade encourages physical exercise among people living with dementia. It does so in a way that promote physical safety for people who are potentially vulnerable in an environment that contains traffic and a range of other potential hazards. Reminiscence therapy should improve people’s mental well-being as they are often able to relate to other people when discussing experiences from their past.

Finally, this social innovation is about enhancing social connectedness so that people living with dementia are not confined to a long-term care institution – even one that is specifically designed with their needs in mind – but enables them to participate as much as they can in the everyday life of the community that they lived in for years; a community with greater knowledge and understanding of dementia.