The training and education in dementia received by these population groups are not systematic and not nationally spread. These are local and few initiatives.

Dementia training and education is currently not mandatorily covered in the formal training of the other sectors. Yet, various NGOs and academic institutions are actively promoting training programmes to other sectors to build a more dementia-friendly environment in Hong Kong. For instance, under the initiative of Dementia Friends Hong Kong (https://www.dementiafriends.hk/en/), the Hong Kong Alzheimer’s Disease Association tailored the dementia training content in terms of level of depth and scenarios for different target groups in order to equip the workforce from other sectors with knowledge about dementia and skills to communicate with individuals with dementia. Any companies or organisations that are interested in this initiative can register as a Supporting Partner of Dementia Friends Hong Kong and attend an information session to understand more about dementia.

General awareness campaigns and workshops have been conducted across the country. After initial discussions in 2004, in 2011 the ARDSI chapter in Cochin initiated a campaign to make the city of Cochin (in the state of Kerala) dementia friendly. This was the first time in India, that a dementia friendly campaign was initiated. Training programmes consisting of skill training for school children, student practitioners and home care staff were conducted. These training programmes started in Cochin, but were then extended to Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and other cities.

As part of this dementia friendly initiative, ARDSI conducted five workshops in different cities across the country: Trivandrum, Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Cochin. Two hundred participants, including family carers, health and social care professionals and the general public attended these sessions. The workshops encouraged participants to identify the challenges associated with establishing dementia friendly communities. The themes which emerged in these sessions were: government involvement and partnerships, creating awareness, training of health care professionals, a multidisciplinary care approach, a symbol for the dementia friendly community concept, service development and support networks. Following on from these workshops, ARDSI published a document recommending national criteria for dementia friendly communities in India (ARDSI, 2010).

References:

Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India. (2010). THE DEMENTIA INDIA REPORT 2010: Prevalence, impact, cost and services for dementia. New Dehli. Available from: https://www.mhinnovation.net/sites/default/files/downloads/innovation/reports/Dementia-India-Report.pdf

Alzheimer Indonesia conducts trainings for family caregivers and for the volunteers of their organisations. Besides that, the organisation also collaborates with regional governments. For instance, training 413 social workers of the DKI Jakarta province Department of Social Affairs to be first responders when there is a missing older person or when a person with dementia experiences difficulties to get home (Jakarta Resmikan Pasukan Ungu Bantu Penderita Demensia, 2016).

Dementia education sessions have been conducted in junior high schools, senior high schools, and vocational schools in DKI Jakarta in July 2015 and 2016, at the beginning of the academic year, in collaboration with the provincial government. Approximately 20,000 students were reached through this programme (Alzheimer’s Indonesia, 2019b). Based on the organisations’ internal correspondence documents, in 2016, Alzheimer Indonesia had also provided training for bank/financial service staff and developed a dementia education module for staff of Bank Tabungan Pensiun Negara (National Pension Bank) who often tend to deal with clients with cognitive impairments. The organisation has also collaborated with private sector providing service in retail, such as Hero, a local supermarket chain, in which training was conducted for their grocery store staff to be able to better support their older clients (Hero, Supermarket Ramah Lansia Pertama Di Indonesia, 2018).

References:

Alzheimer’s Indonesia. (2019b). Tentang Alzheimer Indonesia.

Hero, Supermarket Ramah Lansia Pertama di Indonesia. (2018, June). PalapaNews.

Jakarta Resmikan Pasukan Ungu Bantu Penderita Demensia. (2016). BeritaSatu. https://www.beritasatu.com/kesehatan/387342/jakarta-resmikan-pasukan-ungu-bantu-penderita-demensia

No data was sourced.

Currently no other professions or groups (including the listed below) receive training as part of their mandatory training or education curriculum.