What is this page for?
In response to the COVID-19 crisis ADI will be continually updating these web pages with advice, resources, case studies, tools and updates to help our network in their own responses.
For specific information relating to individual countries, please visit the websites of our members across 100 countries. Many of our members now have advice and support at national, regional and local levels on their website and many are continuing to run helplines, some with extended hours.
Older people, especially living with dementia, may become more anxious, angry, stressed, agitated, and withdrawn during the outbreak and it is easy to become overwhelmed with the scale and frequency of news updates. For those in quarantine these difficulties may be further exacerbated.
Whether you are a person living with dementia, a carer, a healthcare professional, or otherwise, we want to provide you with information that could help alleviate some of these challenges. We all need to provide and exchange practical and emotional support during this difficult time.
Blogs
- Dementia Alliance International: Supporting people with dementia through COVID-19
- Canada – Alzheimer Society of Canada: Tips for people with dementia, caregivers and families
- France – France Alzheimer’s blog on confinement with a family member with Alzheimer’s: activities to do at home (French)
- Italy – Mario Possenti: Italy in crisis: ADI member Alzheimer Italia on the impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia and how they have adapted to support them
- Malaysia – Datin Jacqueline Wong: Community initiatives from Malaysia to help the elderly and vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak
- Spain – Jesús Rodrigo: ADI’s member CEAFA reveals how they have adapted to support people living with dementia during COVID-19
- UK – Paola Barbarino: COVID-19: some difficult truths
- USA – Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the NIH on the importance of social distancing
- USA – The National Institute of Health: Genomic Study Points to Natural Origin of COVID-19
Videos
- Professor Huali Wang of Alzheimer’s Disease Chinese (ADC)’s presentation on the lessons learned from China in supporting people with dementia during COVID-19. Also available with Spanish and French subtitles.
- UK – Dementia UK’s calming techniques for people living with dementia
- Indonesia – Mindfulness session from Dr Eva van der Ploeg from Alzheimer’s Indonesia
- TADA’s exercise videos – Warm up, Aerobic exercise 1 and Aerobic exercise 2
- UK – Innovations in Dementia’s dementia friendly video on setting up zoom on your iPhone
Mental health and wellbeing
- The WHO’s mental health advice during COVID-19
- The Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC): Living with the Times – A mental health and psychosocial support toolkit for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
- UN Secretary-General Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health
- The WHO’s guide to coping with stress during COVID-19 (Also in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
- Canada – Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative’s guidance on social distancing
- QuaranTrain – an International platform providing daily online support and information on exercise and everyday activities during COVID-19
- The IASC’s Interim Briefing Note Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak
- UK – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s short guide on promoting positive mental well-being for older persons
- WHO EMRO’s materials & resources for helping frontline workers cope with stress
- Our Brain Matters: Hundreds of memory boosting exercises to stimulate the brain and battle memory loss
