Transforming Dementia Care

Elsevier, Better Living with Dementia, Implications for Individuals, Families, Communities, and Societies, 2018, Pages 247-264
Authors: 
Laura N. Gitlin, Nancy Hodgson

We consider in this chapter the transformative actions that need to occur at each level of our social ecological model to support or result in comprehensive dementia care. We argue that we must address issues on multiple fronts and somewhat simultaneously in order to make a real difference to real people, communities, and society. Our social ecological model calls upon and reflects the possibility for multiple and iterative actions, practices, and policies at each of its levels in order to obtain and assure continuance in transformation. In this regard, the lines on our model are porous and not necessarily temporally ordered; hence, layers are interactive as we have tried to illustrate throughout this book with meaningful actions required that are independent, in concert with, and in an integrated fashion in order to transform dementia care for individuals, families, communities and societies.