Assistant Professor Hiroshige Matsumoto, PhD of Department of Community Health Nursing/Public Health Nursing
Involving people with dementia in decisions that affect their lives can help improve healthcare systems and make society more democratic. Whether or not they get included often depends on how government officials feel about their participation. This study looked at how local government workers in Japan view the idea of including people with dementia in policymaking, and what factors influence those views.
In December 2022, nearly 1,000 officials from cities and towns across Japan took part in an online survey. Each participant was responsible for dementia-related work in their area. They came from different professional backgrounds, such as administration and public health. The survey asked about their views on people with dementia, how often they interact with them, where they get their information about dementia, and some basic personal information. The researchers then analyzed how these things were connected to their attitudes toward involving people with dementia in policymaking.
Overall, most officials had fairly positive views of people with dementia and were somewhat supportive of including them in public decisions. Officials who had more positive attitudes toward people with dementia were more likely to support their involvement in policymaking. Two things had a strong direct influence: having worked together with people with dementia on shared activities, and working in larger cities or towns. Also, being female and learning directly from people with dementia (rather than just reading or hearing secondhand information) had an indirect effect—it helped officials see people with dementia more positively, which in turn led to more support for their participation.
The study shows that how government officials view people with dementia is the most important factor in whether they support their involvement in policymaking. This means that reducing negative stereotypes and encouraging direct, respectful interactions with people with dementia can make a big difference. When officials understand and value the perspectives of people with dementia, they are more likely to include them in decisions that affect their lives.
Access the full paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39876615/