Thammasat in collaboration with Bueng Yitho Town Municipality Office, integrating care for the elderly with dementia
Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University led by Prof. Rapeepan Khamhom, Dean of the Faculty of Social Administration, together with Bueng Yitho Town Municipality Office welcomed the elderly and carers who participated in the ‘Strong Cafe’ activity on the occasion that the Bueng Yitho Elderly Recreation and Rehabilitation Center organized the project “Building a network and building relationships with families of the elderly with dementia” or “Dementia Café “.
The problem of the elderly with “Dementia” is increasing for Bueng Yitho town municipality area. There is a service model called “Bung Yitho Elderly Recreation and Rehabilitation Center” that features a day-to-day care service for the elderly in the ADL 5-11 group. It was found that in the service providing, there were elderly with early stage dementia or late stage dementia 10 out of 20 patients, representing up to 50 percent of all patients which clearly shows that there is a strong trend of dementia problems arising among the elderly who receive services. This is a problem at the family, community and national level which must be paid attention to and recognized as a problem that should have solution and guidance for the elderly and families in order to encourage proper care. It was found that there were activities for dementia patients through the family support system. One of the successful models from Japan is called Dementia Café which is the nature of entering a coffee shop and organizing activities through consulting, talking to each other, exchanging knowledge, opinions, and feelings by using the coffee shop space or suitable place to organize activities. This is another good model of service for families of elderly with dementia.
The Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University in collaboration with Bueng Yitho Town Municipality Office therefore adopted the concept of Dementia Café by delivering into a specific format for caring for the elderly with dementia within the area called “Strong Cafe”. The activity not only invites elderly with dementia to take part in the society but as for caregivers, they can also recognize problems, needs, and participate in stress-relieving activities and joining social support as well.
