reMIND- Reinforcing Carers Capacity to Deal with Dementia

Dementia is a progressive cognitive impairment leading to declines in memory, thinking, and daily functioning. Alzheimer's is the most common type, affecting around 70% of cases worldwide. The WHO estimates 48 million affected globally, projected to triple by 2050. Population ageing, especially in southern Europe, drives its prevalence. Informal caregivers, primarily women, provide 80% of care, but intensive caregiving leads to reduced workforce attachment, poverty, and mental health issues. EU countries implement policies to support caregivers, such as Spain's National Plan on Alzheimer's. Stigma and lack of awareness hinder diagnosis and care, posing significant social and economic barriers if unaddressed.

The project's main OBJECTIVE was to improve the well-being of people living with dementia and their caregivers, creating an environment where all, including people with dementia, caregivers, and communities in general, could be better prepared to address the overall care needed for a better quality of life. To this end, a set of SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES was defined to address the NEEDS of the target groups, including the general public, communities, caregivers, caretakers, and entities in social care and welfare: Increased dementia awareness, inclusion, and friendliness Reduced risk of dementia Improved diagnosis and care Support for dementia caregivers Enhancement of health information and care systems for dementia Promotion of research and innovation

1. reMind Caregivers: A transnational and local Capacity Building Programme (training for trainers, training for caregivers and technical seminars) oriented to informal, formal, and professional caregivers from the community and relevant organisations. It aimed to purposefully increase and adjust knowledge, skills, and capacity for consistent, systematic, and reliable care supporting caretakers' well-being, as well as caregivers' own personal and psychological well-being with 287 participants. 2. reMind Information & Awareness: A complete communication campaign (online, face-to-face, events, and reMIND mobile App), that reached 120.000 people on social media, was implemented through which the community, its institutions, families, and individuals were informed and sensitised about facts and notions about the disease, its impacts on affected persons, families, and society in general, risk factors and behaviours (prevention), tips and practices for understanding the disease and caring for people with dementia, and available services and support entities. 3. reMIND Community: creation of dementia Inclusive & solidary community: capable for embracing social transformation proposal and qualified for comprehensively supporting caregivers and caretakers, thus involving the entire community in the inclusion and emancipation of all individuals. It implies the creation of a framework for lobbying, with focus on influencing integrated caregiving and well-fare community-based systems and policies at local, national and European level. 4. reMind Dissemination: Considering the pilot nature of the project and its strong representation of the needs of many other communities across Europe, a solid dissemination strategy was implemented especially at local level.

O1 - reMind INFORMATION & AWARENESS: campaigns. 4 communication campaigns were held in 5 different countries, sharing both original content and information about dementia from the World Health organisation. An additional one was implemented to boost dissemination, and in total it registered 120.000 views worldwide. O2 - reMind - Caregivers - Capacity Building Programme. 52 adult educators participated in 2 international trainings of trainers to improve skills and knowledge on how to deal with people with dementia and how to be a caregiver; the trainers, later on, implemented activities at local level with 287 participants taking part in the training. O3 - reMIND Community -Dementia Solidary & Inclusive Community: The INNOVATIVE aspect of the project was the development of a pilot and replicable community-based care ecosystem, powered by a network of public and private institutions and civil society representatives established well beyond the project partnership that involved 34 stakeholders in 5 countries. O4 - reMIND Mobile APP - Interactive learning supporting tool for caregivers and caretakers - A digital tool developed to assist caregivers in their daily activities with people with dementia, available in 5 languages. O5. reMind SEEDS: Considering the project's pilot nature and its strong representation of the needs of many other communities across the EU, this guide provide the steps to follow and replicate the remind model in any other geographic or institutional contexts, which summarise the main activities of the project: building a community, improve the skills of the carers of people with dementia and raise awareness on this .