Let’s Think About Life with Dementia #5 Bringing Voices of People with Lived Experience to Health Care
In Japan, initiatives are spreading across the country to bring people living with dementia together, aiming to build an enabling society for them to keep enjoying their lives with hope and dignity. For example, at the Japan Dementia Working Group, people living with dementia play a core role in disseminating information, sharing their own experiences, as well as making recommendations. Similar activities and advocacy efforts, led by people living with dementia and their families, have been growing across the world including Scotland, Singapore, and Australia. Let me share one example from the US, Voices of Alzheimer’s (VoA), an organization led by people living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias as well as their loved ones. I recently had an opportunity to speak with a representative of the organization. ■ Incorporating voices of people with lived experience in drug development and more Voices of Alzheimer’s is an advocacy organization for...