Fostering social inclusion of people with dementia and their carers. Opportunities for critical gerontological social work

With the number of people living with dementia (PWD) increasing globally, improving inclusion for PWD and carers is a WHO health priority. In this paper, we argue that gerontological social work may be in a prime position to foster PWD and carer inclusion, based on a qualitative intervention study in the Netherlands addressing the exclusion PWD and carers experience within their social networks (family and friends). In the study, a heterogenous group of sixteen social work, nursing and chaplaincy professionals were trained to work with one of two social network interventions and applied what they had learned with twenty-six networks of PWD, carers, and social networks. We draw on a realist evaluation approach to suggest three mechanisms which improved inclusion: focusing on quality of life; accommodating the perspectives of all involved; and building a collaborative process. The concept of relational agency enables us to better understand how these mechanisms brought about social inclusion. Based on an exploration of factors enabling and disabling the adoption of these mechanisms by professionals and networks, we suggest that gerontological social work education and practice can play a key role in adopting the relational paradigm required to foster PWD and carer social inclusion.