Recovery Intervention to Promote Social Connectedness through Social Recreational Programs for Persons with Dementia: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

People living with dementia and their caregivers continue to experience social isolation and are impacted by consequential negative health impacts. Social recreational programs are community-oriented programs that aim to reduce the levels of social isolation among persons with dementia and their informal caregivers by providing the opportunity to strengthen their social network through an increased social participation in the community. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the reduction of social isolation experienced by persons living with dementia and their caregivers through the use of social recreational programs as a recovery intervention method. A review of the existing literature was conducted to explore the impact of social isolation among the dementia community and to explore the role of social recreational programs as an exemplar of recovery intervention to promote social connectedness. Literature was examined through thematic analysis to identify the emerging themes. Two main themes were examined through the literature review: (1) the impact of social isolation on the health and emotional burden experienced by the persons living with dementia and their caregivers; and (2) the therapeutic components of social recreational programs that represent as a potential recovery intervention to promote the sense of social inclusion. This chapter highlighted the need for future research to examine the effectiveness of social recreational programs in helping the persons with dementia and their caregivers to combat the negative effects of social isolation, as well as to empower them in actively participating and being socially engaged in the community.

Living well with dementia: The role volunteer-based social recreational programs in promoting social connectedness of people with dementia and their caregivers

“…Our current study sample was predominately comprised of participants with Caucasian ethnic background, and individuals who are currently accessing dementia care programs. However, literature revealed that a reduced level of participation is observed in the dementia care and support programs among immigrants and refugees compared to their nonimmigrant counterparts (Sun, Clarke, et al, 2019). Therefore, there is an urgent need for ongoing evaluation to explore whether the existing social recreational programs are culturally appropriate in supporting the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers, as well as raising awareness about these programs and services to promote increased access and utilization by the program participants from diverse cultural background.…”

Participatory community-based arts for older people living with dementia in the community: how are they evaluated? A scoping review

“…11 Broader community benefits can also result, for example, support for the continued participation of people with dementia in community activities can lead to generally enhanced understanding of dementia, which can have a significant effect on wellbeing of people living with dementia and their families. 12 Various types of community engagement activities are designed to ensure people living with dementia, their families and caregivers, are supported to retain their connection to the community. Such activities include co-creation programs, 13 reminiscence programs, 14 leisure activities, 15 physical and exercise activities, 16 and community gardening activities, 17 to name a few.…”