ENGAGE (dEvelopiNG A neiGhbourhood model for dEmentia)

Dr Purity Mwendwa   Trinity College Dublin  & University of Greenwich

The rising prevalence of dementia in older adults and the lack of supports is becoming a critical public health crisis in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Currently, 55 million people in the world are living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. SSA will experience one of the greatest increases of people living with dementia (PLWD) by 2050 particularly the East African region, including Kenya. In the absence of a disease modifying treatment or a cure for dementia, the development of innovative approaches that connect PLWD and caregivers is needed to enable them to continue living well with the condition and ease caregivers’ burden. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the role that local communities can play in supporting PLWD and their caregivers. However, how local networks of family, friends and neighbours can better support them is not yet well understood. Current evidence stems from high-income countries and related work in SSA tends to have an urban bias and does not focus on PLWD. How well, if at all, the learning from this work and the ways in which it translates to non-Western and non-urban contexts has yet to be developed.

Dr Mwendwa’s multidisciplinary project, ENGAGE (dEvelopiNG A neiGhbourhood model for dEmentia) has been developed in consultation with PLWD and caregivers and will combine rigorous social, scientific and creative approaches to investigate the potential for rural neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the project will enhance the well-being of PLWD and caregivers to inform the development of a dementia neighbourhood model (DNM) using a community-based participatory approach. The role of neighbourhoods as places of support for PLWD, but also the limitations they may present to the lives of PLWD is emerging in the literature. This work demonstrates that neighbourhoods can present opportunities for interaction and support for older people, enhance intergenerational communication and engagement and thus can lay the ground for greater awareness of chronic conditions, such as dementia, and support for those living with the condition.

The fellowship aligns with Dr Mwendwa’s future career objective, namely, to be a leader in the field of academic global mental health in ageing populations. The multidisciplinary nature of ENGAGE in the areas of brain health, social gerontology, and participatory methodologies will enable Dr Mwendwa to acquire critical academic skills and professional training. The fellowship provides international mobility, unique intersectoral experiences, innovative training, and state-of-the-art experience in participatory research. In the outgoing phase Dr Mwendwa is based at the University of Greenwich and mentored by Professor Andrew Clark for the first 18 months of a three-year fellowship. Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) will host Dr Mwendwa for the second 18 months under the mentorship of Professor Iracema Leroi.