“Facing Dementia and Cognitive Impairment. A Transdisciplinary Approach through Supportive Care: a sociological perspective”


  • Year (from – to): 2019-2021
  • Scientific coordinator: Giovanni Boniolo
  • Contact Person: Francesco Miele, Federico Neresini
  • Sponsor/s: O.I.C. Foundation
  • Partner/s: University of Padua, O.I.C. Foundation, Civitas Vitae Research Centre
  • Project link (or another external source), https://www.cvrc.it/2019/02/28/2988/

Abstract

In a recent global action plan for a public health response to dementia 2017–2025, the World Health Organization described dementia as an umbrella term for several diseases that are mostly progressive and affect memory, other cognitive abilities, and behaviour. For many years, dementia care has been dominated by the so called ‘standard medical approach’ and treated mainly with drugs, such as anti-anxiety, antidepressant, and antipsychotic medication. With the aim of seeking effective treatments for patients with dementia, a framework for supportive care has been proposed, characterised by continuous support of patients and relatives from diagnosis until death, a holistic approach to care, and finally, high flexibility in choosing the right care practices for each case. Lying at the crossroads between organisation studies, the sociology of health and illness, and STS, the project aims to evaluate the effects of a supportive care approach on care processes, organisational cultures, and quality of working-life in long-term care facilities for older people. The project adopts an ethnographic approach for analysing the organisational life of three long-term care facilities managed by the OIC Foundation in the north-eastern Italy

Research Area: Health, Medicine and Technology