Coherent dementia care in the Netherlands. Workshop

Abstract

Introduction: In June 2002, the Ministry of public health, welfare and sport asked two organisations in partnership with de Dutch Alzheimer Association (DAA) to develop an nation-wide programme for regional providers of care, welfare an cure to improve dementia care from client perspective. The result, of the Dutch National Dementia improvement program (NDP), is almost nationwide implemented (95%). Workshop programme: In this workshop, we would like to discuss the Dutch results, and also what work and did not work. We will present the methodology of evaluation and first results of the French National Alzheimer Plan, implemented in 17 areas in France. The pilot program for a public policy aims to create ‘Homes for the Integration and Autonomy of people suffering from Alzheimer’s or associated disorders’. The pilot program is ongoing and will end in December 2010. It is aimed to re-organize services, change practices and improve the quality of interventions. The ministry of health has asked for and funded a continuous, multi-sites assessment of the implementation of the program. All the methodology will be presented with first results. We assume that results can help to define the level, the role and the strategies of factors of the change management when integration is being implemented in a public policy and not in an independent initiative. The other kind of results is related to the knowledge about policy implementation methodology. After these two presentations (30 minutes), a 1-hour discussion period will be employed to identify common problems and topics across diverse health care systems of all participants. We will notably look for mutual outcomes, for methodology of implementation and of assessment of integrated care for the very vulnerable population of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and associated disorder.