Despite its prevalence, stigma and misconceptions surrounding dementia persist, leading to social isolation, discrimination, and delayed diagnosis. Addressing this stigma is crucial to improving the quality of life for individuals living with a dementia and those who support them.

Did you know, you can lower your risk of dementia?

This Dementia Awareness Week, take a look at how you can reduce your risk and help educate others on these risk factors.

Over the past few months, our Senior Dementia Consultant Dave, along with specialist Associates, have reviewed and published an updated Best Practice in Dementia Care Programme at DSDC.

The importance of inclusion cannot be overstated, particularly when it comes to individuals living with a dementia. For too long, people with a dementia have been marginalised and excluded from societal participation, including teaching and education. However, it is imperative that we recognise the value and contributions that individuals living with a dementia can make in these areas. By embracing their involvement, we can foster a more inclusive and empathetic society, while also gaining valuable insights and perspectives.

This lady IS a Ballerina, she’s showing us! She perhaps can’t dance as she once did, but the music touches something deep within, that still allows her to communicate with us, to show us, I am still here.

Due to the amazing advancements of HIV Treatment, we are thankfully now seeing the first wave of “older people” living with HIV.

Did you know that an older people living with HIV

· Age faster

· Are more likely to be living with chronic conditions

· 8 out of 10 feared cognitive impairment and dementia

In 2025, do we feel that person-centred care is really happening? Or do we just say it, with good intention, or because everyone else says it. How do we evidence it? How do we prove consistency?

Throughout a person’s journey living with a dementia, there will be a variety of different professionals who will weave in and out their life. These will likely include support workers, clinicians, and charities but to name a few. 

Are you or someone you know aged 65 to 85 with a clinical diagnosis of mild dementia? If so, we invite you to participate in an online research study exploring the relationship between memory, imagination, and emotional wellbeing. Participants can complete the questionnaire independently or with the help of caregiver.   

Find out more about DSDC’s updated Best Practice in Dementia Care Learning Progamme!

DSDC was delighted to welcome so many people to the launch of the new training course: LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Ageing and Dementia. You can watch the launch of the training here.

Elizabeth Kasimu, the founder and Director of Alzheimer's, Dementia Organisation Kenya, and Simon Githui, a lecturer and researcher at Dedan Kimathi University, through the Global Engagement Research Fund.

The challenge of dementia in Kenya is under-researched, with very limited data on the prevalence and impact on the local community. The societal implications of an ageing population, the rise of dementia, and the effects of social and economic change are not well mapped and are certainly multi-faceted and complex.

Just after Covid restrictions were lifted a group of people previously unknown to each other and from various backgrounds came together with the support of the Vicar of St Chads Church, Sutton Coldfield, to fulfil his wish to set up a dementia friendly café for the local community. We decided to pilot the café for three months and really, as they say, the rest is history. The first café had less than twenty people attend, but by the third we were close to capacity and have stayed there ever since.

I am a walker – I love walking. I love the freedom of roaming around, being curious, looking for often-missed details. I walk on my commute to work; I walk to get my steps in; I walk to take photographs for content for my Twitter and Instagram pages; I walk out of necessity because inner-city parking is too costly and too stressful and public transport is increasingly getting more expensive. I am a proud pedestrian.

Through my experiences, I have seen firsthand the profound impact music can have in fostering moments of connection, comfort, and joy for individuals living with dementia. These insights have significantly shaped my approach in creating this course, as I firmly believe that music possesses a unique ability to engage individuals on an emotional level, enriching their lives in ways that words alone often cannot.

Here’s a sneak peek into the new Music and Dementia Training Course. This program is designed to explore how music can meaningfully contribute to the lives of those living with dementia.

Awareness and training to support the LGBTQ+ community has never been more important. Historical discrimination and unconscious bias can often leave individuals from the community with feelings of deep mistrust. This can lead to social isolation, confusion, and vulnerability. Many also choose to hide their identity in care settings.

The Bellfield Centre, based on the site of the former Stirling Community Hospital, has been the centre of a collaborative arts project. The purpose-built centre provides intermediate health and social care for older people to learn (or re-learn) the skills they need to be independent. 

Part of the arts project saw the redesign and reappropriation of eight park benches from a previous care home. Working with residents, community groups, occupational therapists and dementia specialists, the benches were refurbished and augmented with designed interventions making them more accessible and dementia friendly.