Effects of the Participation and Involvement of Medical Professionals in Dementia Cafés on the Attendance of People with Dementia Living at Home and Their Family Caregivers

Background: Dementia cafés have been attracting attention as a new approach to dementia care, but the effects of the participation of medical professionals remain unclear. Objective: To clarify the significance of collaboration between medical professionals and dementia cafés. Methods: Questionnaires regarding the numbers of staff and guests, whether medical professionals introduced guests, whether cafés announced their activities to medical institutions, and whether people with dementia played a role were sent to dementia cafés throughout Japan. The responding dementia cafés were then divided into two groups according to the presence or involvement of medical professionals and institutions and compared. Results: Responses were received from 148 dementia cafés, among which, medical professionals participated in 96 (64.9%). Significantly more people with dementia living at home attended cafés run or staffed with medical professionals (p = 0.021 and p = 0.017, respectively), as well as when medical professionals introduced guests to the café or when the café announced their activities to medical institutions (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). Significantly more people with dementia played a role in cafés where medical professionals were administrators or staff (p = 0.008 and p = 0.018, respectively). Similar effects were observed for family caregivers. Conclusion: The participation and involvement of medical professionals and institutions in dementia cafés increased the attendance of people with dementia, especially those living at home. These results suggest that dementia cafés are an effective hub for connecting care for dementia with medical care, and thus help avoid fragmentation in dementia care.