"Living and Celebrating Life Through Leisure" Research and By Us For Us Guide

At the Activity Professionals of Ontario (APO) 2012 Annual Convention in London (October 17-19), members of the Living Life Through Leisure (L3) team, Jessica Luh Kim from MAREP and Karen Megson-Dowling from Sunnybrook Hospital, shared with attendees the research that the team has been engaged in since 2008/2009. 

The L3 team is composed of a group of diverse stakeholders including persons living with dementia, family partners in care, professionals working in the dementia care or recreation field, and researchers, to critically examine how we understand leisure within the dementia context and to create an alternative understanding that would be rooted in the perspectives of persons living with dementia (the "real" experts).

Attendees, mainly Activation and Recreation Professionals working in the community (e.g., day programs, hospitals, retirement homes) and long-term care sector, learned that for many people living with dementia, leisure was a space to experience life despite a diagnosis of dementia.  In fact, people with dementia prefer professionals to stop focusing on the illness and/or disability, but instead support them in living and celebrating life to the fullest through leisure. 

Through leisure, persons with dementia found opportunities to:

• be me
• be with
• seek freedom
• find balance
• make a difference
• grow and develop
• and have fun!

In a recent presentation by Dr. Allen Power, M.D. (inset) at the Allies in Aging Conference (October 18th, 2012) in Kitchener, Ontario, Dr. Power, an Eden Alternative Educator and the author of "Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care", discussed how these 7 leisure experiences were very similar to The Eden Alternative's seven Domains of Well-Being which include:

• identity
• growth
• autonomy
• security
• connectedness
• meaning
• joy

Attendees at both conferences, APO and Allies in Aging, were challenged to move away from the biomedical approach to dementia and to shift towards a new culture of care where meaningful experiences and well-being are at the forefront of care.

For more information about the By Us For Us Guide - "Living and Celebrating Life Through Leisure", please visit the MAREP website at www.marep.uwaterloo.ca (under educational tools).

MAREP and PiDC Researchers at the Canadian Association of Gerontology

At the Canadian Association of Gerontology Annual Meetings in Vancouver, BC on Friday October 19th, from 3-4:30 pm PiDC team members will collaborate on a session entitled The Partnership in Dementia Care Alliance . During the session:

Dr. Sherry Dupuis will give a paper co-authored with Dr. Lisa Meschino, entitled Supporting Inclusiveness in Culture Change at Bloomington Cove Specialty Care (Abstract here). The paper will discuss the work to date at Bloomington Cove where the CCC has worked to foster inclusiveness and has begun work on analyzing the data collected during the Discovery Phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process.

 

Dr. Jenny Ploeg will give a paper co-authored with Jessica Luh Kim entitled The Culture Change Coalition at Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care (Abstract here). In it, Dr. Ploeg discuss the work to date at the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care in Markham. Dr. Ploeg will discuss how the Yee Hong CCC, which serves a primarily Chinese and South Asian population, incorporates an understanding of specific cultural traditions in their approach to Culture Change in the Dawning phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process.

Jennifer Carson will give a paper co-authored with Dr. Carrie McAiney entitled Building on an Organization-Wide Culture Change Initiative: The Experience at the Village of Wentworth Heights (Abstract here). In it, Jennifer will discuss the unique process of culture change at The Village of Wentworth Heights and talk about her findings and experiences in facilitating an organization-wide culture change process and share the experiences of a PiDC site working in the Deliver or Destiny phase.

Dr. Lorna De Witt will give a paper co-authored by Jennifer Gillies entitled Collaborative Relationships in a Community Care Partnership (Abstract here). In it, she will share PiDC experiences in the creation of the Dawning phase of Appreciative Inquiry and talk about how this phase, new to the traditional Appreciative Inquiry process, helps CCC’s foster authentic relationships and sets the stage for the subsequent four stages: Discovery; Dream; Design; and Deliver.

Other papers written by MAREP partners at the Annual Meetings include:

Dr. Elaine Wiersma's paper entitled "Taking a Social-Ecological Approach to Self-Management for People Living with Dementia" taking place on Friday, October 19th at 8am.

Colleen Whyte's paper entitled "Exploring Tensions between Policy, Practice and Lived Experience in Long-Term Care" taking place on Friday October 19th at 8am.

Other Activities: On Friday October 19th, MAREP's Dr. Sherry Dupuis will facilitate a conversation entitled "Advancign Culture Change in Canada" This is hosted by the Research Institute for Aging. Dr. Josie d'Avernas of the RIA, Doctoral Candidate Jennifer Carson of UWaterloo and Schlegel Villages and Dr. Peter Reid of the Pioneer Network will give short presentations. The goal of this Special Interest Group is to contribute to dialogue intended to outline strategies to nurther the growing Canadian Culture Change Movement.