Variation in Implementing Dementia-Friendly Community Initiatives: Advancing Theory for Social Change

Abstract

Dementia-friendly communities (DFC) have emerged as a global movement to make communities more supportive and inclusive of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. This study contributes to a nascent body of research on DFC initiatives by building theory on their local implementation. Based on an analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with 23 leaders of initiatives in Massachusetts (United States), we aimed to identify key dimensions of variation in the implementation of DFC initiatives. We found that all initiatives engaged in a common set of activities, such as the facilitation of training about dementia and improving services for PLWD. Although initiatives mostly engaged in these activities in ways that targeted the community at large, in some instances, they concentrated their efforts on enhancing the dementia-friendliness of their own organizations. We describe ways in which financial, social, and human capital operate as key factors that influence the initiatives’ primary focus (i.e., the community at large or their own organization). Our findings suggest the importance of helping DFC initiative leaders more explicitly specify the focal ecological level of their efforts throughout the trajectory of their work, especially in the context of resource considerations. Results also indicate ways in which DFC initiative efforts at one systems level can support those at other levels over time.