Introduction

0.1 Overview

This document was developed in response to a worldwide recognition that individuals, families, and communities need to be more inclusive concerning persons with dementia. One goal of this document is to engage and include persons with dementia and their families, and carers, in communities of all types, sizes, and locations.

A dementia-inclusive community is one that is committed to working together to promote a better understanding of dementia, reduce stigma, raise public awareness, and that facilitates social inclusion and participation. By fostering a dementia-inclusive environment, communities can support persons with dementia to be independent citizens, to be connected as much as they want to, to feel safe and comfortable, and to be able to maximise their abilities and opportunities to participate.

0.2 Challenges and solutions

The worldwide rise in the number of persons with dementia has led to a growing need to increase understanding of dementia in all societies. Stigmatisation and discrimination towards persons with dementia sometimes occur within their community, creating barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and care, which can significantly impact their quality of life. Many societies do not support persons with dementia adequately and discourage them from exerting maximum control over their own lives. Additional support to enable continued engagement for persons with dementia in daily activities and community life, or to enable participation in decision-making in life, is often provided too late or not at all.

There is a need for education to address knowledge about what a dementia diagnosis can mean for persons with dementia and those around them, including treatment and care options as key elements, which would support development of a dementia-inclusive community within an integrated care approach.

NOTE Integrated care can include primary care, all allied health professionals, e.g. occupational therapists, social workers, physiotherapists, and dementia advisers.

The creation of supportive, safe, and inclusive communities for persons with dementia and those who care for them is essential to maximizing everyone’s quality of life.

This document provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary framework to develop a dementia-inclusive community.

Moreover, this document recognizes that training, resources, experience, personnel availability, and existing organizational structures are constraints that can have a direct impact on how quickly and effectively a dementia-inclusive community can be planned and implemented. Therefore, this document provides guidance on how to identify these constraints and address them as part of the process of designing a dementia-inclusive community.

A person with dementia possibly experiences physical, sensory, cognitive, social, and communication challenges and these need to be considered as part of a dementia-inclusive community. ISO/IEC Guide 71 provides information on various human capabilities and characteristics relevant to this document.

0.3 Expected outcomes and users of this document

Some of the expected outcomes from the use of this document include the following:

— improvement of the quality of life for anyone with dementia in a community;
— development of quality services for persons with dementia;
— ability to obtain recognition for establishing a dementia-inclusive community;
— optimization of the resources needed to develop a dementia-inclusive community;
— creation of new opportunities for all stakeholders in a dementia-inclusive community;
— more inclusive communities generally, where the participation of everybody, including persons with dementia, is facilitated and encouraged.

This document is aimed towards, but not limited to, user categories such as the following:

— authorities having jurisdiction within communities;
— organizations, congregations, and community groups;
— individuals, carers, and families;
— persons of interest in education, research, and development;
— decision makers;
— planners, designers, and providers of products, services, the built environment, and the community infrastructures.

0.4 Other requirements

There can exist other requirements, including regulatory requirements that can affect aspects of a dementia-inclusive community as addressed in this document (e.g. revoking drivers’ licenses, provisions, and regulations for the restriction of freedom and decision-making in later stages of dementia). Consequently, those developing a dementia-inclusive community should identify potential regulatory, health and other requirements that can be in conflict with a dementia-inclusive community and discuss how these conflicts can be resolved or mitigated.

0.5 Approach and structure of this document

The challenges and solutions outlined above set the subject matter and objectives for this document.

An integrated community network is built on the development and integration of the community sectors, referred to as action areas.

Clause 4 provides a process-based framework for the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of dementia-inclusive communities. To transform into a dementia-inclusive community, a set of generic guiding principles is presented in Clause 5. Clause 6 provides a set of requirements for the design of a dementia-inclusive network, while Clause 7 provides information about the action areas and integration between them.

The annexes provide additional information on aspects such as possible considerations when implementing requirements (see Annexes A and B) stages of dementia (see Annex C), other frameworks available for consideration (see Annex D), and a compact implementation and progress evaluation checklist (see Annex E).

BS ISO 25552:2022

Ageing societies. Framework for dementia-inclusive communities

Current

Published:

28 Feb 2022