Muisti-KaVeRi (‘Memory Mate’)

Background

Name of your initiative:

Short name (acronym):

Muisti-Kaveri

Website title and address:

www.muistiliitto.fi

Which organization is submitting this initiative?:

The Alzheimer Society of Finland

Please specify in which regions/provinces:

SUOMI / FINLAND›MANNER-SUOMI

City:

Vaasa

Where is this organization located?:

Finland

Please enter the name of the contact person for this initiative:

Mailis Heiskanen

Please enter the email of the contact for this initiative:

mailis.heiskanen@muistiliitto.fi

Part of larger strategy or programme:

Local

If you answered "other", please specify:

Please provide us with more details of this programme or strategy:

Muisti-KaVeRi (‘Memory Mate’) is a volunteer who has received training for serving as a friend visitor for people with memory diseases who still live in their own homes. Member associations of the Alzheimer Society of Finland have developed a number of volunteering and support person programmes for people with memory disease. The Muisti-KaVeRi (Memory Mate) programme is based on the knowledge that people with memory disease do not have enough people to support them so that they could participate in daily chores and activities.

The status of the initiative:

On-going

Please give a summary of your initiative (in English):

Muisti-KaVeRi (‘Memory Mate’) is a volunteer who has received training for serving as a friend visitor for people with memory diseases who still live in their own homes. The programme gives an opportunity to a significant number of lonely people with memory diseases to maintain normal activities and live their own lives by, for example, continuing participating in an important hobby. Everyone’s life is different. For some, normal life means going to art exhibitions, for others going fishing, rummaging through jumble sales, baking or simply chatting and sharing experiences and thoughts with a friend. It will provide a rehabilitation experience that is geared towards one’s own personal needs, and at best, may even help postpone institutional care. Target group Families with a member who has memory disease How does the concept work in practice? For Example Vaasa`s memory association: 1. Muistiluotsi coordinates the initial training, which covers practicalities, such as rotas, roles and co-operation agreement 2. The local authorities identify families suitable for the programme 3. Students, the future “Memory Mates”, attend a training day coordinated by Muitsiluotsi with the learning content provided by Muistiluotsi, the local authorities and the educational institution 4. After the training, the students visit the families (e.g. on five consecutive Fridays) as coordinated by their educational institution. 5. According to the best practice, the volunteers are presented with a certificate for the training. How does the concept help people with memory disease? Member associations of the Alzheimer Society of Finland have developed a number of volunteering and support person programmes for people with memory disease. The Muisti-KaVeRi (Memory Mate) programme is based on the knowledge that people with memory disease do not have enough people to support them so that they could participate in daily chores and activities. The goal is to enhance the resources and functional ability of people with memory disease and to allow them to continue their normal lives, as they know it, for as long as possible. The concept works because... The method provides an efficient channel to strengthen co-operation between Alzheimer associations and local authorities while educating future care professionals on their attitudes and stereotypes regarding older people and memory diseases. The scope of the co-operation is extensive and it helps improve the quality of life for people with memory disease and their families and bring joy to their day-to-day lives.

The geographical scope:

Local

Type of initiative:

Public-private-partnership

Environment or setting of the initiative:

The economic environment or setting of the initiative:

Rich

The most important source of funding for your initiative:

Other

If other, please specify your source of funding:

What triggered this initiative?:

The Muisti-KaVeRi (Memory Mate) programme is based on the knowledge that people with memory disease do not have enough people to support them so that they could participate in daily chores and activities.

Objectives

What are the main objectives of your initiative? Choose a maximum of 3 objectives.:

Housing: increase the number of older people living independentlySocial participation: increase the number of older people who are socially active

Please describe any subgoals of your initiative:

Muisti-Kaveri (Memory-mate) helps improve the quality of life for people with memory disease and their families and bring joy to their day-to-day lives.

Target group

Does your initiative target people with a specific impairment or disease?:

People who have memory diseases

How many people have you reached or do you expect to reach with your initiative?:

250 - 1000

Does your initiative target a specific age group?:

50 - 6465 - 7980+

Does your initiative target men or women?:

Irrelevant

Approach

Please indicate what best describes your initiative:

Other

What type of intervention strategy is used in your initiative?:

Living lab/pilot

Please indicate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your initiative:

Not applicable

Who executes the initiative:

Research/educational setting

What is the relevant physical scale of your initiative?:

City/municipality

Please indicate how you think your initiative could be scaled up (made to reach more people):

The method provides an efficient channel to strengthen co-operation between Alzheimer associations and local authorities while educating future care professionals on their attitudes and stereotypes regarding older people and memory diseases.

Please indicate the type of stakeholders concerned with your initiative.:

Non-governmental organisationOther

Please describe how you think your initiative could be transferred to other regions or contexts:

The programme gives an opportunity to a significant number of lonely people with memory diseases to maintain normal activities and live their own lives by, for example, continuing participating in an important hobby. Everyone’s life is different. Muisti-Kaveri needs education of memory issues but otherwise it is easy to take part of memory associations Basic action.

Is your initiative economically sustainable and does it contribute to economic development?:

If you selected "other" neighbourhood, please specify::

Impact & outcome

Will you collect or have you collected outcome data for this initiative?:

Yes

What do you consider the key success factors of your initiative? If your initiative has not yet started, please indicate what you expect the key success factors to be:

It will provide a rehabilitation experience that is geared towards one’s own personal needs, and at best, may even help postpone institutional care.it helps improve the quality of life for people with memory disease and their families and bring joy to their day-to-day lives.

What do you consider the main barriers to overcome in your initiative? If your initiative has not yet started, please indicate what you expect the main barriers to be.:

To get enough volunteers. Being muisti-kaveri or as an memory-mate reguires education of memory issues.

What instruments will you use/have used to collect data?:

If you selected "other" instrument to collect data, please specify:

If yes, how will you/have you collected those data?:

Observational studies

Will you collect or have collected socio-economic impact data for this initiative?:

Will or are the collected data in the initiative publicly available?: