CIVIL SOCIETY: 269 PRACTICES
NGO Frodizo was founded in 2009 in Patras by health and social care professionals. Its goal is to provide care and support to vulnerable social groups (elderly people, people with dementia and their families).
More: www.frodizo.gr
The action aims at improving the quality of life of demented patients and their families and in preventing dementia in the Community, as it is a rapidly evolving problem with multifaceted social implications.
Dementia patients
Family Carers of Dementia Patients
Third Age People
Citizens
The program started in May 2015 and continues until today. The goal is to be implemented for as long as there are unmet needs.
The "Dementia intervention at home" program designed to meet the needs around dementia in the wider area of Patras due to the lack of support structures for the dementia affected population in the region, coupled with the ever-increasing number of people suffering from some form of dementia (estimated 200,000 patients in Greece) and the predicaments of the Greek family in the years of the financial crisis.
In the framework of the program the following services are offered:
• Mental and physical empowerment in demented patients to enhance their cognitive functions, to help them maintain their autonomy and functionality and improve their quality of life. In addition, the family carers are also trained in the mental and physical empowerment in order to be able to apply the interventions to their beneficiaries alone, aiming to the sustainability of the intervention after the termination of the training program and the maintenance of the patient's functionality for as long as possible.
• Provision of counseling services to caregivers to be able to manage the burden of care.
• Counseling on the provision of nursing care to dementia patients and on safe living in their home.
• Implementation of seminars for family caregivers on dementia management issues and implementation of groups for the psycho-education and relief of carers, that function complementary to the counseling at home provided.
Domestic intervention is personalized and is planned by the interdisciplinary team of the project. It takes place on a weekly basis per specialization, for six months for each participant. The planning and follow-up of the intervention course are based on the results of the assessments made to patients and caregivers at the beginning and at the end of the intervention with valid tools (neuropsychological evaluation and physical functioning of patients, psycho-emotional evaluation of carers).
After the end of the program, caregivers are given a guide on mental and physical empowerment as well as on nursing care in dementia as a tool for continuing the intervention. Follow-up visits are also being carried out to re-evaluate patients' progress.
The project was an innovation on the provision of services to patients with dementia as there was no earlier holistic approach in Greece. The following services are also provided under the program for dementia prevention and for raising community awareness:
Memory Support Office that aims to early diagnosis of dementia signs in the Third Age population, to maintaining functionality after the first diagnosis through non-pharmaceutical interventions and on preventing dementia.
Informative events for the prevention of dementia in the wider public of Patras, which were supported by volunteer
In May 2015, over 3,500 home visits from our union’s workers have taken place, while more than 120 families having a person with dementia have been offered our services, where each of the beneficiaries was ensured a 6-month participation in the home intervention program.
According to the measured results of the intervention assessments, most of the patients who participated in the program found stability in the course of their disease at the cognitive level, while they found improvement in their availability and their functionality.
Regarding the carers, it was found that after the end of the program they showed reduced rates of stress and anxiety and reported greater self-confidence in providing care. This is an outcome that enhances the physical and mental health of carers, making it easier for them to carry out the other social roles they have as parents, spouses, etc., something that has an impact on the proper functioning of the local community.
A survey carried out by our Union with a sample of 42 family caregivers showed that 54% of the participants had a modest to severe burden before joining our home care program, which fell to 35% after the intervention.
The program also contributes to the prevention and early diagnosis of dementia in the elderly population of Patras Municipality through the Office of Memory Support and through the organization of the Information Days.
Finally, a large number of citizens (over 400) participated in several actions of the program for prevention or information about dementia, enhancing the establishment of Friendly Communities for Dementia to reduce the stigma posed for the patients.
Patras
Within the framework of the "Dementia intervention at home" program, the association cooperates with actors from both the local government and other civil society organizations. Particular mention should be made of the cooperation with the Western Greece Periphery for the implementation of information and prevention activities for dementia in Patra and other areas of the Western Greece Periphery.
The program is implemented by two full-time employees (psychologist and social worker) and four part-time workers (nurse, physiotherapist, physical education teacher and administrative)
Because of its importance for the target groups, this program has received support from significant Welfare Institutions such as TIMA Foundation and Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The progress of the program so far and its steady support, endorse the transparency and effectiveness of “Frodizo”
It has been possible to develop know-how for integrated intervention in families that care a person with dementia
Networking - cooperation with local and national stakeholders to support the rights of people with dementia and their carers. We have already received requests from organizations in Athens, Heraklion, Chalkida, Ioannina and other regions that wish to implement similar intervention programs or, more generally, to cooperate at different levels. Through the participation of Frodizo in Pan-Hellenic Federation of Alzheimer and the creation of an integrated training plan, this intervention can be "modeled" and used, with appropriate adaptations, by institutions in Greece
