Skills In DEmentia CARe – Building psychosocial knowledge and best practice in dementia care Erasmus Project

Project Title

Skills In DEmentia CARe – Building psychosocial knowledge and best practice in dementia care

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

The project consortium has developed an innovative curriculum of studies aimed to bloom in the next generation of professionals’ perspectives on psychosocial care via a collection of sound, timely and evidence-based knowledge.
The consortium embraced a transnational and future-oriented ethos. In the following years, the population ageing and the health standards would affect European welfare, especially for what concerns dementia. Moreover, the migration of people across Europe would highlight cultural singularities, either in the opportunity to age in the landing country or transnational movements of formal caregivers. The scaffolding opera the consortium erected fits with the zeitgeist of the Bologna process, too. The process, indeed, prompts HE to develop opportunities to get transnationally recognised knowledge, which can support professional exchanges beyond international and transcultural borders.
The Sidecar curriculum is composed of learning modules, each focusing on those impacted by dementia: one module tackles people with dementia’s issues; another module regards the impact on family caregivers; the last one target the formal caregivers supporting both people with dementia and families. The curriculum is online. Once sign-up, either the modules or the topics featuring each module are available and can be attended singularly. Indeed, in comparison to other HE curricula, the possibility to access all the materials or just a part of it makes the current curriculum very fitting for students’ personal needs and demands. Moreover, the curriculum is enriched with a manual available online, describing the curriculum itself and supporting its use.
Unfortunately, more than half of the project occurred in the pandemic. In the first half of the project, partners could attend and organise live moments where they presented the curriculum’s content physically. In the second part, the pandemic imposed on transferring most of the meetings online: no open days, fairs or expositions were recommended. We assume that around 6500 people could learn about the project in this light.
Activities participants were manifold: they span from students, academic lecturers and scholars, clinicians and experts in dementia, and Local, National and European politicians. Notwithstanding the difficulties, the project received positive evaluations in all the activities where it was disseminated and explained. The feedback partners collected mainly were. People were curious about the project and interested in signing up for the platform. Once they could evaluate the curriculum materials, participants reported being interested in borrowing the materials in their studies/courses/organisation. All the partners took part and organised activities so that the feedback was either local or international. When it comes from local activities, they recommended translating the materials in as many local languages as possible to reach even those interested in the phenomena but not comfortable with materials in English.
Project dissemination also capitalised on social media: Every Thursday, the consortium posts new publications, advertise project progression, or activity inside FB and Tw pages. Moreover, we promoted external pages and information appearing salient for anyone keen to be updated about scientific progress in dementia via the accounts.
SIDECAR would surely increase the scientific literacy on psychosocial care of the next generation of professionals interested in working in the contexts of dementia. In this way, it would impact dementia-related stigma towards a caring culture focused on the possibility of living well even with dementia. Sidecar targets are students, professionals, and HE teachers, who can adopt our materials to increase their portfolio of knowledge.
One of the long-term benefits the project has developed involves peer collaborations. The project has created national and international connections among colleagues sharing the same view, and others are formalising.

Project Website

https://sidecar-project.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 372549,32 Eur

Project Coordinator

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA & Country: IT

Project Partners

• UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA
• Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education
• UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT