Innovations in Dementia Care - Making a Difference in People's Lives

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Nov 29, 2017
by Salzburg Global Seminar
Innovations in Dementia Care - Making a Difference in People's Lives

Participants discuss what topics they would like to explore during the six-day program on dementia care

Albert Mulley, Veronique Roger, and John Lotherington set the scene on the first day of the session

Policymakers, clinicians, carers and service users from around the world have convened at Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, to tackle one of the most serious and growing health challenges for health care.

Around 40 participants from 14 countries met on Tuesday afternoon for the start of the Salzburg Global session, Changing Minds: Innovations in Dementia Care and Dementia-Friendly Communities.
This session is part of Salzburg Global’s multi-year series Health and Health Care Innovation in the 21st Century. It is being held in partnership with The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, and the Mayo Clinic.

For the next few days, participants will discuss the challenges people living with dementia experience and explore ways in which to better support them and their families.

To set the scene, the six-day program began yesterday with a panel discussion involving session co-chairs Albert Mulley and Veronique Roger.

Roger, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, described Salzburg Global as a “unique setting” to reflect on “really important critical health issues.” She suggested global well-being would require more than the input of the health care system. This view was echoed by Mulley, managing director for global health care delivery science at The Dartmouth Institute, when he suggested there were other factors to consider.

Mulley said there was a false assumption that the more money spent and the more done on health care interventions would lead to better health and well-being for all. Mulley said social determinants, behavior and genes provided a far greater contribution.

Taking these views into account, participants began to consider questions they would like answered during this week’s program. This included: What do we mean by a dementia-friendly community?

While the meaning and term continue to be debated among participants, several did agree any chance of making progress in this field was dependent on political will and that people living with dementia also had to be involved in the process.

In many countries, there is still much to be done in building awareness around dementia and helping people understand the seriousness of the issue. Cultural differences have to be taken into account when reviewing what actions might be effective in different regions.

These talking points, and more, will continue to be analyzed in the days ahead as the session continues.


The session, Changing Minds: Innovations in Dementia Care and Dementia-Friendly Communities, is part of Salzburg Global Seminar multi-year series Health and Health Care Innovation in the 21st Century. This year’s session is held in partnership with The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice and The Mayo Clinic, with support from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Tsao Foundation, and the University of Texas.