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Interviews

We interviewed dozens of family members of dementia patients and community workers, aiming to provide the public with a novel perspective to learn the daily life and work experience of populations closely connected to this issue and gain insight to this social problem with empathy. The following interviewees are willing to disclose their information. The remaining interviewees chose to remain anonymous. The interview content is integrated into other parts of the website in text form.

Mr. Chen


Shanghai Jinmei Elderly Service Center
Manager of Yangjing Memory Home
 

Organize cognitive intervention activities for the elderly with mild cognitive impairment, and organize sharing and support activities for dementia families

After doing this work,

what new understanding do you have of dementia?

Before doing this job, my impression of the issue of dementia was " imbecility". But it wasn't until I actually started this job that I gained a more comprehensive understanding of this issue. On one hand, I found that this problem is far more serious than I had imagined. Through some statistics, it can be observed that the number of individuals with dementia has been increasing in recent years. On the other hand, I realized that we need to make society more friendly towards this condition and encourage more people to pay attention to and understand it. We can start by changing the way we refer to this condition and avoid using the term "imbecility" to describe it—this term is actually somewhat discriminatory and limited in summarizing the symptoms of dementia.

Ms. Zhou


Shanghai Jinmei Elderly Service Center
Yangjing Day Care Center Manager

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Providing daily care for elderly people with dementia, and providing non-pharmacological intervention therapy

Could you introduce detailedly about your work?

Our daycare mainly focuses on caring for the elderly with dementia, which is a bit different from the traditional care of the elderly. The elders who come here have different symptoms, and we will treat them in different ways according to their symptoms.

For elders with severe symptoms, we will directly take care of them, helping them with swallowing, toileting, etc. For elders with mild dementia, we mainly use non-drug intervention, which slows down the progression of dementia by continuously stimulating their brain. Our activities include music, art, painting, tie-dye, gardening, etc. For example, we will ask the elderly to plant different crops in different seasons and the elders can pick the fruits they grow for cooking to exercise their hands-on skills. Some elders with dementia may become anxious if they have nothing to do for a long time. Non-drug intervention will enable the elders to devote themselves to activities, and the symptoms of anxiousness will be reduced.

​Ms. Yang


Shanghai Jinmei Elderly Service Center​

​Manager of Yangjing Memory Café

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The daily operation of the Memory Café

(A charity cafe jointly run by elderly people with dementia and young volunteers)

What does your usual work include?

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How did you first come up with the idea of getting into this industry?

Our daily work is quite complicated. We are responsible for the recruitment and training of elderly volunteers and youth volunteers, as well as personnel management. In addition to welcoming guests on a daily basis, we occasionally organize some special events. During the production of coffee, we need to supervise the quality of drinks and stock of materials, which involves a significant amount of work.
I am a coffee lover, and the Memory Cafe is located in Yangjing, the place where I grew up. In addition, one of my family members used to have cognitive impairment. At that time, I was not old enough to do much to help, and this left me with some regrets. By chance, I learned about Jinmei Elderly Service Center, so I wanted to use this platform to learn more about dementia and see if I could do my part to solve this social problem. That's why I came to operate this Memory Cafe.

​Ms. Zhang

 

"About three years ago, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Initially, she would frequently forget things, like forgetting to turn off the tap or forgetting to switch off the gas. Initially, I thought this might be a normal part of aging, but later, after searching online, we noticed some symptoms that seemed similar to dementia. So, we went to the clinic for a series of tests, and eventually, it was confirmed that she is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease."

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Has there been any change in her cognitive condition in recent years?

It's getting worse. At the beginning, she used to recognize all three of us kids. But I've noticed in the past two years that Mom has become a bit confused. She mixes up the order of the eldest, second, and third siblings, often referring to my younger brother as the older brother, and sometimes even mistaking him for her own brother when he comes to visit. Another thing is that her language has become somewhat disordered, different from our normal expressions. Sometimes I feel like I can't understand her, as if she's speaking in a foreign language. Now, her words are becoming fewer, and she's very quiet.

It seems like she doesn't realize that she's not expressing herself clearly, and it's like she's living in her own world, unaware and indifferent, with a relatively blank mind. But she still has a sense of emotions: the three of us children visit the nursing home at least once a week, chat with Mom about the past, and engage with her. Before she sees us, she has a blank expression, but after seeing us, she smiles and tries to find something to offer us to eat.

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