Description
The project’s primary objective is the empowerment and reinforcement of the effectiveness of NGOs’ intervention among informal caregivers of people with dementia – a growing target-group whose specific needs are yet to be met. This capacity building work will be carried out at two different and complementary levels. On the one hand, a Caregiver Support Office will be created, formed by a multidisciplinary team which will result from cross-sectoral cooperation with local health and social intervention peers, encompassing front-office/consultation and home visit services. On the other hand, the promoter will foster the dissemination and replication, among other NGOs, of an approach developed in a previous project led by the promoter, in which the CGF participated, the “Psychoeducational Program for Informal Caregivers”, by providing consultancy, awareness-raising and training. Following these activities, it is expected the establishment of a partnership network, which will be able to convey and uphold the needs of the beneficiaries.
Summary of project results
In 2010, an estimated 70,000 people suffered from Alzheimer's disease in Portugal, many others suffered from various types of dementia. About 3/4 of the patients rely on informal caregivers, which have limited access to information and support, while health and social intervention services tend to about 1/4 of the patients. Many NGOs address this challenge in their local communities but often lack support. Implemented in northern Portugal by a partnership between two NGOs, a municipal authority and a hospital, the project’s primary objective was the empowerment and improved effectiveness of NGOs’ intervention among these informal caregivers. The promoter’s previous experience in this area included the development of a “Psychoeducational Programme for Informal Caregivers”, in which the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation participated. Under the scope of this project, the promoter provided consultancy, awareness-raising and training to other NGOs, building on its earlier work on this issue and aiming at disseminating and replicating it. Also, the project enabled the creation of Caregiver Support Offices, staffed by a multidisciplinary team which handled both front-office/consultation and home visit services. The project accomplished much in this regard, warranting great interest by the local stakeholders and exceeding most of its targets. 152 NGO staff members, from a network of 29 local NGOs from 10 municipalities, were trained in order to become more effective in supporting caregivers. It is also expected that this network will remain relevant after the project’s completion, in assessing the support provided to caregivers and in advocating for their needs. Also, the support office carried out 620 personalized intervention actions amongst caregivers. The population of Portugal is among the fastest aging in the world today, and most people living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia are elderly. Building capacity to address this issue is very much needed, and the project effectively built capacity required so that civil society, together with the public authorities and in complement to its services, is able to do so. Also, both the support office and the training/consultancy services provided were very important in granting the promoter a higher level of recognition, and thus, the ability to replicate this project in the future, carry out new ones, and access new sources of funding.
Summary of bilateral results