LAUSR

ABSTRACT Currently there is a lack of understanding of dementia by the general public in Taiwan, and more importantly, those who care for dementia suffers. The aim of the current Educational Programme (EP) was to help the participants increase their knowledge of dementia, and thus to strengthen their caring skills for dealing with the Older Adults with Dementia (OAwD). The programme involved 282 participants and took 15 months to complete. All those participated were non-professional, private carers who looked after their family members that suffer from dementia. It was demonstrated that such a programme was greatly beneficial to participants in gaining knowledge about dementia, learning more caring skills, and other valuable information included in the educational programme curriculum. It was evident that after completion of the programme, the participants became more aware of the available community resources and more likely to access those additional support. All participants showed strong interest in repeating the educational programme to further enhance their caring skills.