Since the publication of our first allied health professional dementia policy document in Scotland, Connecting People Connecting Support (Alzheimer Scotland 2017) we have debated, advocated and delivered dementia rehabilitation informed by three sources of evidence: research, clinical practice and the voice of lived experience. We shared in our second report (Alzheimer Scotland 2020) examples of AHP dementia rehabilitation and in our third report (Alzheimer Scotland 2024) we highlight there is a rehabilitation gap that must be filled, with a need to increase awareness of what dementia rehabilitation is, how it has a positive impact on people with lived experience and also services, and there is a continued need to apply the evidence of dementia rehabilitation in practice.
As an allied health professional dementia community, with our many partners, colleagues and friends, we are therefore going to share a number of blogs posts over the next 12 months on rehabilitation and dementia, answering the simple question
“What does rehabilitation mean to you?
This is the first blog, in the series of blogs.
I have always been aware that rehabilitation and dementia is not new, (Marshall 2005) that “all people living with dementia can benefit from rehabilitation” (WHO 2023) and rehabilitation as an intervention means different things to different people, that it should be personalised and support the whole person, taking into account their desired lifestyle. (Scottish Government 2022).
At the start of this year, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege to present with colleagues at Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) in a co-hosted webinar with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Rehabilitation and dementia; global, national and personal perspectives. ADI writes “rehabilitation following a dementia diagnosis can be an effective approach to empower individuals to maintain independence for as long as possible. It can also help ensure that those living with the condition remain central to decisions regarding their treatment and care”
Chris Lynch, Alzheimer Disease International, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Policy and Communication sets the scene at the beginning of the webinar with the stark reality that “people with dementia are not routinely offered rehabilitation despite experiencing disability associated with the condition and despite accumulating evidence such as exercise, occupational therapy or cognitive and physical rehabilitation however people invariably have to seek out rehabilitation support and services” Chris then poses a couple of questions for us to consider:
How do we change that? so that rehabilitation and the benefits of rehabilitation are proactively considered and offered as health and community supports ?
and
Do we think the lack of proactive offering of rehabilitation is tied into societal perceptions about dementia which maybe related directly to the World Alzheimer report last year?
The webinar then has four different presentations, sharing the latest evidence base, the voice of lived experience and then integrating rehabilitation in practice. In my presentation I conclude, all the work we have developed in Scotland has and will continue to be guided, challenged and informed by the voice of lived experience with the quote from Scottish Dementia Working Group and National Dementia Carers Action Network.
“A number of us have had direct access to AHPs. Their support, guidance and rehabilitation interventions have been invaluable to us, and we want to ensure that other people living with dementia, their families and carers also have access to their expert clinical experience.”
Alzheimer Scotland 2024
You can watch the ADI and WHO webinar here
September is designated as World Alzheimer’s Month, and we are looking forward the upcoming 2025 ADI Report which will explore the important topic of dementia rehabilitation.
Follow us at to read our series of blog posts where we will be sharing
What does rehabilitation mean to you?
If you were to answer that question, what would your reply be?
Contributor. Elaine Hunter, National allied health professional, Alzheimer Scotland
References
Alzheimer Scotland 2017 Connecting People, Connecting Support. Transforming the allied health professionals contribution to supporting people living with dementia in Scotland, 2017-2020 Edinburgh [online].
Alzheimer Scotland 2020 Connecting People, Connecting Support in action. An impact report on transforming the allied health professionals contribution to supporting people living with dementia in Scotland, Edinburgh [online].
Alzheimer Scotland 2024 Connecting Support: looking back, looking ahead An update report on transforming the allied health professions’ contribution to supporting people living with dementia, their families and carers in Scotland
Marshall M 2005 Perspectives on Rehabilitation and Dementia Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Scottish Government 2022 Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Once for Scotland Person-Centred Approach to Rehabilitation in a Post-COVID Era
World Health Organisation 2023 Package of interventions Module 3: Neurological conditions