The welcome in the context of dementia

This week we hand over to Dr Chris Russell to hear his reflections on how ‘the welcome’ relates to an education course that he is currently facilitating…

It has been wonderful to recently welcome a new cohort of learners to the fresh run of the “Championing Physical Activity for People Affected by Dementia” (CPA) course. Built in partnership with the Leisure Studies Association and Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire, the fully online course aims to enable learners to feel more confident and empowered in offering physical activity for people affected by dementia in a variety of settings (the community, care homes, hospitals, leisure and fitness centres etc.).

As the host and lead tutor it is a consistent privilege and pleasure to welcome students from a variety of professional backgrounds (care, leisure, health, housing and sports etc.) from right across the country and sometimes beyond.

My aim is to initiate learning from the start, and this includes thinking carefully about the welcome I offer to students each week. Constructive, positive human contact is fundamental to good practice in dementia. Modelling this in a training environment can help offers cues to learners for their practice when welcoming those they work alongside, care for and support. To guide my approach I utilise findings from the research in the dementia, leisure, social citizenship and physical activity sphere within which I have been involved.

You can read more about welcoming people affected by dementia well in the textbook published alongside colleagues Karen Gray and Jane Twigg and authors from multiple relevant settings and contexts (please see the reference below). But here, in summary, are six points discussed with students on the course in relation to welcomes in dementia (if you would like to find out more about the programme and when it will run again, please see the flyer below or be in touch at c.russell@worc.ac.uk)

1. Relationships are being built from the very first moment.
2. Take a proactive approach to the welcome you offer.
3. Ensure the genuine feel of the welcome. You are actually pleased to see people!
4. Can the welcome boost and enhance further opportunities for sociability? (i.e. with care, seeking information and looking to enhance further social connections).
5. A group identity can be fostered through the welcome (others coalesce around it via the person offering the welcome and through the symbolism of it. Feelings of comradeship and camaraderie can be outcomes).
6. The welcome should be ongoing, repeated at each new contact and linked to the sustained effort to ascertain the preferences of individuals and aspirations for their participation. (Russell, 2023, pp.225-227)

Reference: Russell, C. (2023) ‘Sport and Physical Activity’, in Gray., K, Russell., C and Twigg, J. (eds) Considering leisure and dementia. Maidenhead: Open University Press, pp. 213-236.

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