Approaching Multiethnicity and Dementia in Education and Work Erasmus Project

Project Title

Approaching Multiethnicity and Dementia in Education and Work

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Cooperation between educational institutions and business; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

<< Background >>

We applied for this project in order to address needs related to actual challenges that all partners in this project had experienced in their daily work. The main need was the need for improving the competences among present and future caregivers in the field of caregiving to persons, who at the same time are suffering from dementia AND have a cultural background that is different from the background of the professional caregiver. Caregiving in itself is difficult because you enter the intimate sphere of the person in need of care and get very close to him or her. It is generally recognized that caregiving to persons with dementia is even more challenging. However, all actors in the field of caregiving know that when one more challenge is added on top of the others, namely the aspect of multiculturality and multiethnicity, it becomes really difficult – often leaving the professional, the person in need of care and the relatives with a sense of powerlessness and frustration because you simply to not have the knowledge and the tools to handle the situation. Another need we wanted to address was the need to strengthen the cooperation and the common understanding between the work life and education in the field of care.

<< Objectives >>

By implementing the project, we wanted to contribute to the needed enhancement of competences among trainers, teachers and students in health care educations and among care staff, in relation to treatment of people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and suffering from dementia. And thus, to contribute to improvement of the standard of caregiving in general, of caregiving to people suffering from dementia and but specifically of caregiving to people with dementia and a different cultural background than the caregiver’s.
With the production of the video we wanted to raise the awareness on and the understanding of the challenge of multi-ethnicity in the care sector and specifically the challenges related to people suffering from dementia and having different ethnic backgrounds.
With the establishment of permanent fora/channels/procedures between work life and education we wanted to improve the constant exchange of experiences and continuous communication between education and work life.
With the dissemination activities we wanted to spread our good intentions to as many as possible.
Furthermore, we wanted to improve the quality of work life among caregivers and a better life to elderly with dementia and their relatives.

<< Implementation >>

The implemented activities were:
Workshops in each partner country with the participation of representatives from working place and education on practices related to the challenges of multiethnicity and multiculturality in care in general and with a special view to the field of dementia. Development of reports on the results of the workshops with input for the development of the project outputs.
Development of a training program/training course/training material based on the results of IO 1.
Development of a Teacher’s guide.
Development of reflection tools for caregivers.
Piloting of the training program and the reflection tools.
Production of a video raising the awareness on, the understanding of and the interest in the challenge of multiethnicity in the care sector and specifically the challenges related to people suffering from dementia and having different ethnic backgrounds.
Development of a project website.
Organisation of four multiplier events.
Dissemination activities.
Evaluation and quality assurance.
Organisation of four transnational partner meetings.
Continuous holdings of meeting at national level between work place partner and education partner.
Meetings with stakeholders.
Project management activities.

<< Results >>

The main concrete output was the development of a training program/training course/training material developed with the involvement of caregivers and teachers at care institutions. The material consists of different elements: a) Ten modules that are giving knowledges and insight in the field of caregiving to persons with dementia and another cultural/ethnic background. The material is also dealing with development of intercultural competences and work in multicultural teams. b) a Teacher’s guide supporting trainers in the field and containing concrete cases related to each of the developed modules. c) Reflection tools that aim to stimulate and encourage reflection and changed attitudes and behavior (videos showing dilemma situations, interviews, games and reflection questions). Besides a video raising the awareness on, the understanding of and the interest in the challenge of multiethnicity in the care sector and specifically the challenges related to people suffering from dementia and having different ethnic backgrounds.
Finally a project website where all the above mentioned outputs can be found.

Project Website

http://amide.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 210791,6 Eur

Project Coordinator

SOSU OSTJYLLAND & Country: DK

Project Partners

• Aarhus Kommune – Sundhed og Omsorg
• Giovani Valdarno Società cooperativa sociale
• P.Stradins Medical College of the University of Latvia
• Arbeiterwohlfahrt Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V.
• ASP Martelli
• Ozolnieku novada pasvaldibas SAC “Zemgale”
• Haus am Klostergaten