© da-kuk via Getty Images
‘ My role was to support the group to develop their ideas , sign off on the project plan and to make sure they had completed adequate risk assessments . I encouraged the group to use their theoretical knowledge to maintain an occupation focus for a community of people , through regular mentor meetings .’
The aim of the project was to reconnect individuals with the outside world . Saoirse reflects on the challenges of completing this project within a pandemic : ‘ Due to COVID-19 we were limited in what we could do , however I found the barriers of COVID-19 made us more creative .’
A study by Swan et al ( 2018 ) discussed the use of iPads to promote meaningful occupation , which influenced the idea of bringing the outside , inside .
Saoirse describes how they implemented the project : ‘ We compiled a series of films completing walks in different environments . One of the films focused on a walk around Canterbury city centre at Christmas , looking in shop windows and viewing the Christmas lights .
‘ The other was a walk along the river , focusing on the ducks , the water and the trees . We took inspiration from a study completed by Milenski et al ( 2018 ), which found that sensory and memory stimulation benefited residents and staff by promoting interaction , memory stimulation and reducing agitated behaviours in people with dementia .’
She goes on to explain how this influenced their work : ‘ In the films we were careful to detail what we could see , hear and smell while on the walks to enhance the viewer ’ s sensory engagement with the footage .’
Describing the practicalities of implementing the project , Anya adds : ‘ We created sensory stimulating videos that we shared to YouTube for individuals living with dementia to be able watch .
‘ We used our mobile phones to film ourselves and then used iMovie to export the videos and edit the clips and photographs to create short montages . We chose to share these on the YouTube platform as it was free and easily accessible to everyone .’
Reflecting on what she has learnt from the project , Anya says : ‘ Our community project has given me a better understanding of dementia and how sensory stimulation plays a significant role .
‘ Auditory stimulation can be relaxing and can bring about an attitude change in individuals .
Left to right : Saoirse Mckenna and Anya Mockett
June 2022 OTnews 51