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How can digital media and film be used to improve dementia care in India?
Bianca Brijnath, Ph.D.
National Aging Research Institute
Melbourne, Australia
Background
More than 4 million people have some form of dementia in India. However, there is a lack of dementia awareness. This may result in delayed diagnosis and a sub-optimal care experience. Dr. Bianca Brijnath believes that by leveraging India’s growing digital presence, the researchers can increase the caregivers’ knowledge and awareness on dementia, support resources, importance of self-care as well as useful questions to ask when consulting with physicians.
Research Plan
Building off of work done in Australia to increase dementia awareness and caregiving among Indian-Australian communities, Dr. Brijnath will collaborate with researchers and clinicians from Australia, the UK and India to develop digital resources. These resources will address the gap of dementia awareness in India, via the Moving Pictures India project. The researchers will conduct video interviews of 25 Indian caregivers and 25 health professionals to study the cultural understandings of dementia, social and clinical care and support resources. The researchers will conduct interviews in two regional languages and/or in English. Using these interviews, researchers will co-produce nine short films and animations on dementia care featuring caregivers and other stakeholders. Dr. Brijnath and colleagues will share the resources first with 60 caregivers and will follow up at 3 and 6 months to monitor impact of these materials to prepare for a larger trial. Finally, the researchers will disseminate the films online for free, and measure its reach and assess impact over time.
Impact
If successful, the study results could promote dementia awareness in India and this approach could be scaled to other nations too.
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