How do people with dementia and their carers evaluate the meeting centers support programme?

Background. The Meeting Centers Support Programme (MCSP) offers information and practical, emotional and social support to persons with dementia and their carers in local community centers. In this study the support programme was evaluated by participants (persons with dementia and carers) who utilized the MCSP for at least three months. Methods. Data collection took place within the framework of an implementation study in 11 meeting centers. 148 persons with dementia and 148 carers participated in the study. Data were collected after three and seven months of participation by means of questionnaires. Results. In general the persons with dementia and the carers were satisfied to very satisfied with the different elements of the support programme, the enrolment procedure, the contact with personnel, the location, and the facilities the centers have to offer. Half of the persons with dementia and one third of all carers indicated that they had made new acquaintances and friends at the center. Though satisfied with the programme, a majority of the persons with dementia (67% after three months and 58% after seven months) said that they were never asked what they wanted to do. The large majority of the carers feel somewhat less (42%) or much less (46%) burdened as a result of participating in the programme. This reduction of experienced burden proved to be related to satisfaction about the total programme (rs=0.35, p<0.005), experienced understanding for the own situation in informative meetings (rs=0.19, p=0.05), and experienced emotional support in contacts with other carers (rs=0.19, p=0.03). Conclusion. The satisfaction of the persons with dementia and their carers about the MCSP, and the percentage of carers who experienced a reduction of burden thanks to the support they received are high. However, the fact that two thirds of the persons with dementia say that they were never asked what they want to do indicates that the methods used by the staff need to be improved.