Joint study identifies dementia can be managed with sense of togetherness

If people with dementia regularly practice memory and movement in assisted living communities, they are less likely to be hospitalized. This is the result of a joint study by the University of Bremen and the University Hospital Erlangen.
Due to their old age and various illnesses, people with dementia are at high risk of being admitted to a clinic – which often has negative consequences for them. The DemWG study therefore aimed to reduce the number of hospital admissions and follow-up costs.

Better care for people with dementia in outpatient communities
The research project examined the effect of a complex intervention. This consisted of three components: further training for employees and relatives in the outpatient dementia flat shares; digital further training for family doctors (online and as a podcast), training program with movement and memory exercises in the group for people with dementia (MAKS-mk+).
Professor Karin Wolf-Ostermann, project manager from the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research at the University of Bremen, emphasizes: “The DemWG study with the training program MAKS-mk+ makes an important contribution to improved care for people with dementia in outpatient communities. It therefore makes sense to continue the program in everyday care.”

MAKS-mk+ for more togetherness
The MAKS program is a demonstrably effective psychosocial measure. It stands for motor (“M”), everyday (“A”), cognitive (“K”) and social (“S”) exercises. In the further development of MAKS-mk+, motor skills (“m”) are promoted with various movement exercises; the cognitive, i.e. mental abilities (“k”) are stimulated through playful digital exercises, and stretching, balance and strengthening exercises (“+”) are intended to prevent falls. The MAKS-mk+ training program was particularly popular with the residents and was carried out up to five times a week during the study. It promoted the original idea of ​​a flat-sharing community, and “social cohesion and interest in one another developed, really a real sense of togetherness,” as a relative reports. Through the joint group activities, the participants were able to get out of the daily grind, which offered limited employment opportunities, especially during the corona pandemic. The exercises to prevent falls also had an effect and reduced gait insecurity.

Fewer hospital admissions
In the group of shared accommodation that started the intervention immediately, there were also demonstrably fewer hospital admissions after six months. “If a person with dementia does not have to go to a clinic, you avoid a lot of stress for them and the risk that their needs cannot be adequately met there,” emphasizes the Erlangen project manager PD Dr. Carolin Donath from the Center for Medical Health Services Research at the Psychiatric and Psychotherapeutic Clinic of the University Hospital Erlangen, explained the significance of the results. To this day, MAKS-mk+ is still offered in most of the participating dementia shared flats, and 90 percent of the residents take part in it at least twice a week.

The DemWG study was funded by the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee and carried out by the University of Bremen and the consortium partners of the University Hospital Erlangen and the AOK Bremen/Bremerhaven.