ASUME Volunteering and Dementia in Norway

This project will take forward the successful ASUME Volunteering and Dementia project (www.asume.co.uk) funded by the Abbeyfield Research Foundation (2014-2017) by developing an evaluative toolkit for volunteering activity that can be applied to a national volunteering programme in Norway.

This will practically support the current and critical topic of dementia care and how this is sustained by the third sector across different welfare regimes. McCall et al. (2017) have shown the extent of activities and impact of volunteers while supporting both those living with dementia and carers in the UK. However, with an ageing population and increasing numbers of people diagnosed with dementia on a global scale (Brayne and Miller 2017), it is more critical than ever to explore the global potential of volunteers in helping people age well in their homes and communities. This proposed project will address the lack of evidence-based tools for organisations around the impact and role of volunteers in dementia care on an international scale.

The project will explore how volunteers can bridge boundaries across health, housing and care and learn ‘what works’ for supporting community-based models of care. We will develop a cross-country comparative framework and practical evaluative toolkit that will allow volunteering and dementia organisations to assess quality and impact of volunteering services.