By 2050, one in three Swiss people will be over 60 years old. Despite the many benefits of this positive trend, there will also be an increase in age-related diseases such as dementia, which can severely impair cognitive functions and physical mobility in the third (65+) and fourth age (85+). According to Alzheimer Switzerland, 151,000 people in Switzerland suffered from dementia in 2018. Age is still the biggest risk factor, so the number of people affected is expected to double by 2040. Every year, 28,000 people are newly diagnosed with dementia.

Dementia is not yet curable, and the symptoms of the disease impact the quality of life of both the person affected and those around them. The care and support of individuals with dementia is and will continue to be one of the major social and health policy challenges of the coming years.

Our research in the Dementia Cluster

The interdisciplinary project initiative in the Dementia Prevention and Care Cluster focuses on two project areas:

1) “Dementia care research” focuses on the prevention of impaired cognitive abilities and the physical aspects of mobility support on the one hand, and on the verification of a care model for individuals with dementia in an acute setting on the other.

2) “Virtual educational practices and technology development” brings the lives of individuals with dementia into focus. Using virtual forms of representation and training (research and development workshop for the technologisation and digitalisation of the living environment of individuals with dementia), the challenges of people with dementia and the people around them can be met through the specific use of state-of-the-art technologies. These are intended to provide relief, support and a more successful everyday life for all those involved.

At the same time, structural conditions are being created that are intended to have a positive effect not only on the living situations of people at risk of or suffering from dementia, but also on the wider environment and society.

In both areas, individuals affected by dementia (at an early stage) are included, thus taking into account the demand for participation of those affected in research and development projects.

The project “Dementia: Prevention and Care” proposed for funding is based on the “Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017–2025” adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017), which identifies dementia risk reduction as a strategic area for action. Furthermore, a link to the current WHO guideline “Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia” (2019) will be established with the aim of making a sociopolitically valuable contribution to the scientific development, implementation and evaluation of analogue and digital prevention and care strategies that address the mobility-related risks and their effects on the development and progression of dementia.

Another line of research involves psychological aspects. Proposals for prevention and intervention are developed here (“good practices”). This involves, in particular, the third age (65+) and the fourth age (85 +). Interventions are initially to target mobility and physical activity, and in older age, cognitive impairments that affect regular living and well-being. Such interventions will be implemented with the support of digital tools and technologies.