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A Thousand Miles Online Care and Support Program

A Thousand Miles Online Care and Support Program

Summary

Under the lockdown during the COVID pandemic, older people with dementia and their caregivers were trapped at home with insufficient cognitive stimulating activities and support. Therefore, St. James’ Settlement Wan Chai District Elderly Community Centre launched an online programme entitled “A Thousand Miles Online Care and Support Program” to provide monthly one-on-one online activity for older people with dementia and their caregivers.

The programme delivered one-on-one online sessions containing a series of activities such as crafts, cognitively stimulating activities, fine motor exercises, and dialect learning. Each section lasted for around 30 minutes and was delivered through two online platforms including WhatsApp video call and Zoom.

Participants found the programme useful and helpful especially in the COVID period with limited opportunities available for social participation for those living with dementia. However, people with moderate dementia found it difficult to concentrate on the small display screen on a phone or tablet and indicated that it often made them feel tired or distracted.

Website: https://cc.sjs.org.hk/?route=services-detail&sid=27

Key facts

Main target group: Older people with chronic health conditions or disability

Other target group(s): Caregivers of people with dementia

Sector(s): Health

Other sector(s): N/A

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageing in place
  • Dementia

Contact details

Name: Kwok-wai, Sabina KOO

Email address: sabinakoo.kkw@gmail.com

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Social or health care provider

Others involved in the project:
  • Local authorities

How collaboration worked: The programme has been supported by the Wai Chai District Council and organised by the St. James’ Settlement Wan Chai District Elderly Community Centre.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were consulted during the planning process

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people were the target participants of the programme.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
Most of the older people were accompanied with their caregivers to join the craft and game groups which enhanced their interactions in a happy atmosphere. According to workers’ observation, older people always had smiling faces when they joined the programmes. We also received positive feedback from caregivers.

Feedback:
Caregivers found difficulties in using Zoom software for communication. They thanked our staff for teaching them to use new technology which is easier than they expected.

Expansion plans:
Not yet

Looking back

Reflections:
1. The theme and content of the activity needs to be timely (lifestyle/interests/festival), emphasizing interactions and bringing a sense of accomplishment 2. It is recommended to set up different levels, links, and follow-up arrangements 3. Older people should be encouraged to share and try new activities, and staff should pay attention to the participants and exert positive energy 4. The level of activities should be adjusted according to the abilities of the participants so that they can complete the tasks 5. Invite caregivers to join as facilitators, so that the older adults will have more satisfaction from the activities 6. The materials should be sent a week earlier before the activity and the older people are invited to prepare the materials such as paper-cutting, to increase the sense of commitment 7. During the online activity, co-workers should pay attention to environmental factors for the video conferencing such as lighting, network connection, audio etc. 8. Co-workers should show appreciation to older people and slow down the pacing of giving instructions. Giving more examples and demonstrations to ensure that participants see the host and understand the instructions 9. Co-workers should send photos taken to families on the same day so that they can review the activities, which facilitates more communications among the family members

Challenges:
The online activity can last up to 30 minutes per session. In order to allow the participants to focus on the activities, warm-up games and chit-chats before the activities are important. We have encountered participants who like to share their views which can sidetrack the session, so co-workers need to be time gatekeepers in order to make sure every participant has an equal chance to share in the activity. We have also encountered older people with moderate cognitive impairment who had low motivation, and fluctuating emotions because of poor sleeping quality. Some older people may lose their temper in front of the camera. We need to report the situation to their families and assist them to solve the underlying problems.