Gwanak-gu, Establishment of Dementia-Safe Senior Centers

Completed Installation of 'Dementia Safe Senior Centers' Signs to Support Dementia Patients and Families by This Year... Sign Ceremony Held on the 18th at Gwanak-gu's 'Baeksul Senior Center'... ▲Created Dementia Safe Senior Center Charter ▲Designated Dementia Overcoming Leading Organizations to Improve Dementia Awareness

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) is creating ‘Dementia Safe Senior Centers’ at 113 senior centers within the district to spread a culture where residents understand and support each other even if they have dementia or cognitive decline.

Since February, the district has been strongly promoting the creation of Dementia Safe Senior Centers as a key project of the 8th local government administration. The ‘Gwanak Mind Dementia Safe Senior Center’ project was selected as a public contest project by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and as a result, on the 18th, Gwanak-gu’s ‘Baeksul Senior Center’ received its first signboard.

The ‘Gwanak Mind Dementia Safe Senior Center Signboard’ symbolizes a promise to never forget for a long time, and the district plans to attach it to all senior centers in Gwanak-gu by the end of this year.

Additionally, the district produced the ‘Dementia Safe Senior Center Charter’ and the memory recall booklet titled ‘Our Mom’s Taste of Hand Memories’ to break negative prejudices against elderly people with dementia and promote a positive perception.

First, as a preliminary step to creating the ‘Gwanak Mind Dementia Safe Senior Center,’ the district conducted the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) test to evaluate the awareness of dementia among senior center elders.

The district converted items with high negative scores into positive phrases and created a ‘Dementia Safe Senior Center Charter’ containing unique practice promises for each senior center through commitment activities to improve the elders’ perception of dementia and instill the will to fulfill these promises.

For example, ▲‘I have never thought about caring for a person with dementia’ was changed to ‘We kindly help dementia patients when they ask for help,’ ▲‘I do not know much about dementia’ was changed to ‘We pay attention to dementia patients and listen well even to repetitive stories,’ and ▲‘I am afraid of people with dementia’ was changed to ‘We do not fear dementia patients but respect and treat them kindly,’ thereby promoting improved awareness of dementia among the elderly.

Furthermore, the district produced the booklet ‘Our Mom’s Taste of Hand Memories,’ created together by dementia patients and senior center elders, to share collectively, helping dementia patients recall memories and providing opportunities for social participation.

One elder who participated in this activity said, “I didn’t realize I had negative feelings toward dementia patients. I will be kind to them,” pledging to have an understanding and inclusive attitude toward dementia patients.

Since 2018, the district has been piloting the ‘Dementia Safe Village’ program and currently operates 13 neighborhoods, striving to create a culture where dementia patients and their caregivers can harmoniously live with residents.

The district is encouraging broad community participation in improving dementia awareness through ▲dementia screening tests and prevention education visiting senior centers ▲training dementia partners ▲designating dementia overcoming leading organizations.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said at the ceremony commemorating the ‘Gwanak Mind Dementia Safe Senior Center’ signboard, “I thank the senior centers, which are representative facilities for elderly care, for leading the creation of a dementia-safe environment that understands and supports dementia patients and their families,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to create a ‘Gwanak without dementia worries.’”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.