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Splaine Consulting December 2021 Newsletter
UMASS Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care Policy Course
The University of Massachusetts (UMASS) is offering the Sping 2022 Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Policy Course. The course will be taught by Alzheimer’s, dementia, and aging advocates and Splaine Consulting Partners, Mike Splaine and Kate Gordon.
The course is designed for gerontology and social work students, community care providers and other health and aged care professionals.
In this course students will move ideas into actionable policy solutions, explore a historical view of local, state, federal and global dementia, and brain health policies, participate āliveā in at least one real-world dementia policy development activity, translate ideas into policy-level solutions, define relevant stakeholders, and develop effective communications with policy makers.
The course is from February 7th – March 21st. To learn more and register, visit here
Alzeimer’s Disease Drug Treatment Study
A new study published in Nature Aging Journal identified sildenafil (common brand name Viagra) as a candidate drug for Alzheimerās disease (AD). Sildenafil was shown target both amyloid and tau ā two hallmarks of Alzheimerās. Repurposing the drug sildenafil which is already FDA approved and licensed for other health conditions, could deliver dementia treatments much quicker. To determine an association between sildenafil use and decreased risk and incidence of AD, additional research and a large-scale randomized clinical trial is required.
Access the full study here.
Accelerated Action Needed to Protect Older Adults
Recent findings by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that about 1 in 6 people 60 years or older have faced abuse in family and community settings. As the global population grows rapidly older, abuse of the older people, the majority older women, needs to be addressed by governments, aging advocates insist. Over the past two decades, the UN General Assembly has adopted plans to deal with the vulnerabilities hindering the lives of the worldās oldest people, particularly in poor countries. These plans included the Madrid Plan of Action in 2002, the creation of a working group in 2010, and most recently, the proclamation of a Decade of Healthy Ageing for 2021-2030. Advocates argue that a critical piece is missing, a binding convention to protect the human rights, dignity, and security of older people. To learn more, visit here.
SMart Inclusive Living Environments Project
The SMart Inclusive Living Environments (SMILE) project provides an infrastructure that supports older people to live independently but also fosters collaboration between older people and members of their circles of care. SMILE offers digital solutions to assist older persons and their care partners in several ways including: machine learning that provides analytics of the older personsā daily habits, intentions and care journey; communication technology that keeps
older persons informed about their condition(s), what preventative actions might be needed; wearable and remote sensors and mHealth apps self /automatic reports that provide riskscores and alarms for pre-defined, undesired clinical and social isolation events to the circle of care of the aged person, including care practitioners, mobility providers, nutrition support and home security.
THE CONSORTIUM SMILE brings together 13 partners from five countries (Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece, and Canada) with expertise in innovative user and participatory design, innovative care provision, implementing innovative AI-based solutions, smart home devices, and triple helix collaboration, among others. SMILE has received a grant of ā¬5,8 million from the EU Horizon2020 Research and Innovation programme and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Learn more about the project here.
Living with Dementia Toolkit
The Living with Dementia Toolkit offers resources to support people living with dementia and their carers.
This set of resources is based on research evidence of the experiences of people with dementia and their carers. These are the five themes of the toolkit that are meant to contribute to the lives of
people with dementia:
- Stay safe and well
- Stay active
- Stay connected
- Keep a sense of purpose
- Stay positive
Explore the toolkit here.
Virtual Brain Health Upcoming Classes
Virtual Brain Health by Global Brain Health Institute offers live-streamed interactive classes by industry professionals in healthy aging, brain wellness, and memory care. Splaine Consulting sends a virtual high five to Dr. Krystal Culler, Founder & Creative Director and Senior Atlantic Fellow of the Global Brain Health Institute.View all the Virtual Brain Health classes here!
Living Alone and Connected!
Living Alone and Connected! (LAAC) is an online community made for persons living alone with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Through dynamic content and interactive online events, LAAC’s mission is to lessen the effects of the existing social isolation many people with Alzheimer’s already faced, isolation that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Living Alone and Connected! hosts events and programs that include happy hours, live museum tours, arts nights, and educational presentations, all held live through the Facebook group. Through creativity we will create connectivity! You might live alone, but you don’t have to feel alone.
Living Alone and Connected! is a Facebook group hosted and moderated by Cognitive Solutions, LLC. Living Alone and Connected! is supported in part by a cooperative agreement NV90ALGG0015 from the Administration on Aging (AoA), Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
If you, or someone you care for, has Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia and lives in a single household, please join or share the Living Alone and Connected! Facebook group.
www.livingaloneandconnected.com
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Interested in accessing your opportunities?
Our history with this unique program goes all the way back to its creation and initial funding in the 1990ās through to the present in which we have been a consultant to several of the grantees, with a special focus on the live alone population and guiding stakeholder development and sustainability strategy in the translating evidence based programs into community use.
Contact Mike & Kate!