Creating a measure of community level dementia‐friendliness in faith communities

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAs the prevalence of dementia rises, modifying built and social environments of persons living with dementia (PLWD) becomes increasingly essential. Although there is a call to rigorously evaluate dementia‐friendly community initiatives, no known comprehensive evaluation tools exist to assess small communities such as churches and community centers. Therefore, we developed a person‐centered Dementia‐Friendly Community Assessment tool.MethodsThis tool consists of new and validated scales to assess the level of dementia‐friendliness among churches enrolled in a dementia‐friendly congregation program based in African American communities. An initial draft of the theory‐informed survey instrument was given to stakeholder groups (church leaders, care partners, PLWD, and the Alter advisory board) with the goal of gathering feedback on domains included in the tool, as well as general wording and appropriateness. After focus group recordings were transcribed, the team made revisions and administered the survey to 10 stakeholders (church leaders, care partners, PLWD, and lay congregants) to gather feedback on the digital version of the survey, proposed changes to the tool, and thoughts on implementation aids and barriers.ResultsOverall, the tool was well received by participants, with most participants indicating the tool’s resulting scores would be useful for their community. Additionally, the tool’s content prompted many to share personal experiences of living with dementia or caregiving for PLWD, indicating that future use of this tool may provide a starting point to address stigma.ConclusionNext steps include piloting the survey with broad church membership, and our aim is to enable programs to quantify their dementia‐friendly community initiatives.