Working together in creating and maintaining a familiar and meaningful everyday life in a Danish Dementia Village

Background:
The first dementia village was established in 2015 as a public institution in Denmark. The intention was to provide people with dementia a way of living which enables them to still be part of the local community in an environment that resembles familiar everyday life. The purpose of this project was to explore how people with early stage dementia living at home, relatives to people with dementia living in the dementia village and volunteers reflect on creating and maintaining a familiar and meaningful everyday life, in the context of a Danish dementia village.
Methods:
A methodology for user involvement in public service development and evaluation called ‘The BIKVA Methodology’ was used. The project employed focus-groups and semi-structured interviews, participant observations and photo-elicitation. The sample consisted of 38 participants: seven persons with dementia, eight relatives, thirteen volunteers and ten healthcare professionals. A thematic analysis was used.
Results:
People with early stage dementia did not wish to use the possibilities of the dementia village, because they were confronted with people with dementia in a late stage. Relatives contributed actively in creating a meaningful everyday life in the village, but emphasized the importance of still connecting the residents with real life outside the village. The volunteers were essential for the residents’ abilities to use the possibilities of the dementia village.
Conclusion:
The interaction between the dementia village and the local community, as well as the resident’s sense of a meaningful everyday life, was dependent on active involvement of relatives and volunteers. This level of civil involvement is still unusual in a Danish healthcare context. Regardless of the intention of the dementia village, it was unable to include people with dementia in all stages.