Experiences of a communication-skills course for care partners of people living with dementia, empowered conversations: A qualitative framework analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Our aims were to examine whether an experiential course for care partners of people living with dementia, Empowered Conversations (EC), was acceptable to participants and to explore participants' perceptions of the impact of the course upon their communicative interactions. EC is based on an integrative model derived from psychological and linguistic theory and empirical evidence. EC is based on mentalisation theory, perceptual control theory and linguistic theory (The Communicative Impact Model). METHODS: Qualitative data were collected via 28 semistructured interviews. Framework analysis was used to analyse data. RESULTS: Three superordinate themes, 'improved communication', 'improved well-being' and 'support through others' were identified. Twenty-seven out of the 28 participants described feeling that they were able to better connect with the person living with dementia that they were supporting through attending EC. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that EC was acceptable and beneficial to care partners. Care partners developed a range of strategies and understandings that enabled them to communicate better with the person they were supporting, enhanced well-being and relationships, as well as developing social networks. This is the first qualitative study to examine a psychosocial intervention for care partners of people living with dementia using a non-CBT framework and indicates that perceived control could influence how care partners respond to stress and difficulties.

Use and uptake of technology by people with dementia and their supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: This rapid review aims to identify the types of technologies used by people with dementia and their supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the issues which influenced technology adoption within their usual care routines. METHODS: PubMed, PsychInfo, Scopus, and Cochrane COVID reviews were searched to identify peer-review studies published since 2020. A total of 18 studies were included and synthesised thematically. RESULTS: Of these, most were conducted in the community (n = 15) with people with dementia only (n = 11) and involved qualitative methods (n = 11). The majority (n = 12) focused on digital off-the-shelf and low-cost solutions, such as free video conferencing platforms, to access care, socialise or take part in interventions. Whilst often well-accepted and associated with positive outcomes (such as improved social connectedness), lack of digital literacy or support to use technologies, limited access to appropriate technology, individuals' physical, cognitive, or sensory difficulties, were highlighted and likely to threaten the adoption of these solutions. The quality of the evidence was mixed, neither very robust nor easily generalisable which may be attributed to the challenges of conducting research during the pandemic or the need to rapidly adapt to a new reality. CONCLUSION: While COVID-19 has fast-tracked the adoption of technology, its use is likely to continue beyond the pandemic. We need to ensure this technology can leverage dementia support and care and that people with dementia are enabled and empowered to use it.

Healthcare professionals' perceived challenges and solutions when providing rehabilitation to persons living with dementia-A scoping review.

AIM: This review aimed to map studies related to healthcare professionals' perceptions and attitudes towards the rehabilitation for persons living with dementia and extract what they perceive are the barriers and solutions. BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation can improve the quality of life and integration of persons living with dementia into society. However, there are several barriers to accessing rehabilitation services. Healthcare professionals are a source of information to understand the challenges and provide solutions to improve these services. DESIGN: Arksey and O' Malley (International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8, 2005 and 19) five-step framework for scoping reviews and the PRISMA-ScR checklist was used. The PAGER (Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations) framework was used to identify research and practice recommendations. METHOD: Seven databases including Medline Complete, Academic Search Ultimate, Ageline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Pubmed and Google Scholar were searched. The healthcare professionals' perceived challenges and solutions were categorised using Braun & Clarke (Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2006 and 77) thematic analysis. RESULTS: Fifteen articles were selected for review. The challenges and solutions were organised according to their association with three stakeholders; the persons living with dementia/informal caregivers, healthcare professionals and the organisation providing the service. Nine of the studies focused on persons living with dementia following a fall or a hip fracture. Most of the studies focused on the perceptions of allied healthcare professionals, with nurses working in rehabilitation settings being underrepresented. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals have to consider the complexity of rehabilitating persons living with dementia irrespective of the rehabilitation speciality. Moreover, more studies are needed that focus on the views of rehabilitation nurses. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This review provides further evidence of the healthcare professionals' misconceptions about the rehabilitation potential of persons living with dementia. There is a need to educate healthcare professionals about the societal, attitudinal and environmental barriers faced by persons living with dementia and their caregivers. PATIENT CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution-scoping review.

From repeating routes to planning novel routes: the impact of landmarks and ageing on route integration and cognitive mapping.

The integration of intersecting routes is an important process for the formation of cognitive maps and thus successful navigation. Here we present a novel task to study route integration and the effects that landmark information and cognitive ageing have on this process. We created two virtual environments, each comprising five places and one central intersection but with different landmark settings: in the Identical Landmark environment, the intersection contained visually monotonic features whereas the intersection contained visually distinctive features in the Different Landmarks environment. In both environments young and older participants were presented with two short routes that both traversed through the shared intersection. To test route integration, participants were asked to either repeat the learning routes, to navigate the routes from the destination to the starting place or to plan novel routes. As expected, results demonstrate better performance when repeating or retracing routes than when planning novel routes. Performance was better in younger than older participants and in the Different Landmark environment which does not require detailed knowledge of the spatial configuration of all places in the environment. A subgroup of the older participants who performed lower on a screening test for cognitive impairments could not successfully complete the experiment or did not reach the required performance criterion. These results demonstrate that strategically placed landmarks support the integration of route knowledge into spatial representations that allow for goal-dependent flexible navigation behaviour and that earliest signs of atypical cognitive ageing affect this process of route integration.

Person-centered dementia care in acute hospital wards-The influence of staff knowledge and attitudes.

Person-centered dementia care practices in acute hospital wards are suboptimal and not commonly measured. Although previous research has indicated that the work environment of staff influences their perceptions of person-centeredness, few studies have examined how their personal attributes, such as their level of dementia knowledge and attitudes, influence their person-centered dementia care practices. A questionnaire was distributed to test the relationship between staff perceptions of person-centered dementia care and their dementia knowledge and attitudes in general medical wards. The results showed that staff with better dementia knowledge were significantly more critical about the extent they were using evidence-based guidelines and external expertise. Staff with better attitudes perceived themselves as using more individualized care practices. The findings demonstrate that to enhance person-centered dementia care in acute hospitals, staff training programs should develop both their intellectual and interpersonal skills to improve their knowledge and attitudes.

Dementia care in acute hospitals-A qualitative study on nurse managers' perceived challenges and solutions.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the perceived challenges of nurse managers when caring for patients with dementia in acute hospitals and identify possible solutions to address these challenges. BACKGROUND: Although dementia care in acute hospitals is suboptimal, few solutions have been identified. Multi-level factors need to be considered to promote changes in practice. METHOD: Two focus groups were held with sixteen nurse managers responsible for eleven acute medical wards in Malta. Deductive qualitative analysis using an adapted version of McKinsey 7-S model was used as an a priori framework to categorize the perceived challenges and solutions. RESULTS: The nursing managers identified a number of organizational challenges that have a direct impact on the quality of care of patients with dementia. They also suggested a number of solutions such as realigning the hospital strategy, improving training and care coordination, redesigning the ward environment and changing leadership styles. CONCLUSION: This study highlight the complexity of improving dementia care in hospitals and continues to show that a system-wide approach is needed. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Understanding the challenges and identifying possible solutions can help hospital staff provide better person-centred dementia care.

How do we get there? Effects of cognitive aging on route memory.

Research into the effects of cognitive aging on route navigation usually focuses on differences in learning performance. In contrast, we investigated age-related differences in route knowledge after successful route learning. One young and two groups of older adults categorized using different cut-off scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), were trained until they could correctly recall short routes. During the test phase, they were asked to recall the sequence in which landmarks were encountered (Landmark Sequence Task), the sequence of turns (Direction Sequence Task), the direction of turn at each landmark (Landmark Direction Task), and to identify the learned routes from a map perspective (Perspective Taking Task). Comparing the young participant group with the older group that scored high on the MoCA, we found effects of typical aging in learning performance and in the Direction Sequence Task. Comparing the two older groups, we found effects of early signs of atypical aging in the Landmark Direction and the Perspective Taking Tasks. We found no differences between groups in the Landmark Sequence Task. Given that participants were able to recall routes after training, these results suggest that typical and early signs of atypical aging result in differential memory deficits for aspects of route knowledge.

Dichotomising dementia: is there another way?

This article discusses the reduction of the complex experience of dementia to a dichotomised 'tragedy' or 'living well' discourse in contemporary Western society. We explore both discourses, placing them in the context of a successful ageing paradigm, highlighting the complex nature of dementia and the risks associated with the emergence of these arguably competing discourses. Specifically, we explore this dichotomy in the context of societal understandings and responses to dementia. We argue for an acceptance of the fluid nature of the dementia experience, and the importance of an understanding that recognises the multiple realities of dementia necessary for social inclusion to occur. Such an acceptance requires that, rather than defend one position over another, the current discourse on dementia is challenged and problematised so that a more nuanced understanding of dementia may emerge; one that fully accepts the paradoxical nature of this complex condition.

Social care and support needs of community-dwelling people with dementia and concurrent visual impairment.

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the social care and support needs of people with dementia and visual impairment, and the barriers and facilitators for meeting these needs. METHOD: Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted: 21 joint and 5 individual interviews with the person with dementia and visual impairment (n=4) or their family/paid carer (n=1). Interviews were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Three themes are presented. (1) Social care needs: having dementia can reduce an individual's ability to cope with their visual impairment, and lead to increased dependency and reduced daily stimulation. (2) Barriers to using technology to meet social care needs: difficulties were reported with learning to use unfamiliar technology and the cost of visual impairment aids, and for some, the presence of dementia made visual impairment aids unusable and vice versa. (3) Familiarity as a facilitator for meeting social care needs: living at home or taking furnishings and ornaments into a new home facilitated independence, and continuity of paid carers/volunteers facilitated the caring relationship between the individual and staff/volunteer. CONCLUSION: Care workers will better serve older people if they are aware of the social care and support needs that arise from having both dementia and visual impairment.

Dementia training programmes for staff working in general hospital settings - a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: Although literature describing and evaluating training programmes in hospital settings increased in recent years, there are no reviews that summarise these programmes. This review sought to address this, by collecting the current evidence on dementia training programmes directed to staff working in general hospitals. METHOD: Literature from five databases were searched, based on a number of inclusion criteria. The selected studies were summarised and data was extracted and compared using narrative synthesis based on a set of pre-defined categories. Methodological quality was assessed. RESULTS: Fourteen peer-reviewed studies were identified with the majority being pre-test post-test investigations. No randomised controlled trials were found. Methodological quality was variable with selection bias being the major limitation. There was a great variability in the development and mode of delivery although, interdisciplinary ward based, tailor-made, short sessions using experiential and active learning were the most utilised. The majority of the studies mainly evaluated learning, with few studies evaluating changes in staff behaviour/practices and patients' outcomes. CONCLUSION: This review indicates that high quality studies are needed that especially evaluate staff behaviours and patient outcomes and their sustainability over time. It also highlights measures that could be used to develop and deliver training programmes in hospital settings.

Simultaneous temporal trends in dementia incidence and prevalence, 2005-2013: a population-based retrospective cohort study in Saskatchewan, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Original studies published over the last decade regarding time trends in dementia report mixed results. The aims of the present study were to use linked administrative health data for the province of Saskatchewan for the period 2005/2006 to 2012/2013 to: (1) examine simultaneous temporal trends in annual age- and sex-specific dementia incidence and prevalence among individuals aged 45 and older, and (2) stratify the changes in incidence over time by database of identification. METHODS: Using a population-based retrospective cohort study design, data were extracted from seven provincial administrative health databases linked by a unique anonymized identification number. Individuals 45 years and older at first identification of dementia between April 1, 2005 and March 31, 2013 were included, based on case definition criteria met within any one of four administrative health databases (hospital, physician, prescription drug, and long-term care). RESULTS: Between 2005/2006 and 2012/2013, the 12-month age-standardized incidence rate of dementia declined significantly by 11.07% and the 12-month age-standardized prevalence increased significantly by 30.54%. The number of incident cases decreased from 3,389 to 3,270 and the number of prevalent cases increased from 8,795 to 13,012. Incidence rate reductions were observed in every database of identification. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a simultaneous trend of decreasing incidence and increasing prevalence of dementia over a relatively short 8-year time period from 2005/2006 to 2012/2013. These trends indicate that the average survival time of dementia is lengthening. Continued observation of these time trends is warranted given the short study period.

Incidence and prevalence of dementia in linked administrative health data in Saskatchewan, Canada: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Determining the epidemiology of dementia among the population as a whole in specific jurisdictions - including the long-term care population-is essential to providing appropriate care. The objectives of this study were to use linked administrative databases in the province of Saskatchewan to determine the 12-month incidence and prevalence of dementia for the 2012/13 period (1) among individuals aged 45 and older in the province of Saskatchewan, (2) according to age group and sex, and (3) according to diagnosis code and other case definition criteria. METHODS: We used a population-based retrospective cohort study design and extracted data from 10 provincial health databases linked by a unique health services number. The cohort included individuals 45 years and older at first identification of dementia between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2013 based on case definitions met within any one of four administrative health databases (Hospital Discharge Abstracts, Physician Service Claims, Prescription Drug, and RAI-MDS, i.e., Long-term Care). RESULTS: A total of 3,270 incident cases of dementia (7.28 per 1,000 PAR) and 13,012 prevalent cases (28.16 per 1,000 PAR) were identified during 2012/13. This study found the incidence rate increased by 2.8 to 5.1 times and the prevalence rate increased by 2.6 to 4.6 times every 10 years after 45 years of age. Overall, the age-standardised incidence rate was significantly lower among females than males (7.04 vs. 7.65 per 1,000 PAR) and the age-standardised prevalence rate was significantly higher among females than males (28.92 vs. 26.53 per 1,000 PAR). Over one-quarter (28 %) of all incident cases were admitted to long-term care before a diagnosis was formally recorded in physician or hospital data, and nearly two-thirds of these cases were identified at admission with impairment at the moderate to very severe level or a disease category of Alzheimer's disease/other dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Linking multiple sources of registry data contributes to our understanding of the epidemiology of dementia across multiple segments of the population, inclusive of individuals residing in long-term care. This information is foundational for public awareness and policy recommendations, health promotion and prevention strategies, appropriate health resource planning, and research priorities.

Discovering what works well: exploring quality dementia care in hospital wards using an appreciative inquiry approach.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the quality dementia care in two geriatric hospital wards using appreciative inquiry with formal care workers and family members of inpatients with dementia. BACKGROUND: Care models such as person-centred and relationship-centred care have been developed to explain what 'quality' dementia care should be. However, their usefulness and relevance to clinicians has been questioned. DESIGN: Using an exploratory qualitative design within an appreciative inquiry framework, 33 care workers working in a geriatric hospital and 10 family members of patients with dementia were interviewed. METHODS: Open-ended questions were asked to encourage care workers to narrate positive care experiences when the care was perceived to be at its best and to identify what made these experiences possible. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed whilst data were analysed thematically using a qualitative data analysis software to assist in data management. RESULTS: Positive care experiences can be understood within five care processes, namely building a relationship between the 'extended' dementia care triad, providing 'quality time' and 'care in time', going the 'extra mile', attending to the psychosocial needs and attending to the physical needs with a 'human touch'. Factors facilitating these positive care experiences included personal attributes of care workers, and organisational, environmental and contextual factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an alternative and pragmatic approach to understanding quality dementia care and complements the body of knowledge on factors influencing dementia care practices in hospitals. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: By understanding the components of quality dementia care and how these can be achieved from different stakeholders, it is possible to develop strategies aimed at improving the care offered to patients with dementia in hospitals.

Availability and Primary Health Care Orientation of Dementia-Related Services in Rural Saskatchewan, Canada.

Community-based services are important for improving outcomes for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. This study examined: (a) availability of rural dementia-related services in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, and (b) orientation of services toward six key attributes of primary health care (i.e., information/education, accessibility, population orientation, coordinated care, comprehensiveness, quality of care). Data were collected from 71 rural Home Care Assessors via cross-sectional survey. Basic health services were available in most communities (e.g., pharmacists, family physicians, palliative care, adult day programs, home care, long-term care facilities). Dementia-specific services typically were unavailable (e.g., health promotion, counseling, caregiver support groups, transportation, week-end/night respite). Mean scores on the primary health care orientation scales were low (range 12.4 to 17.5/25). Specific services to address needs of rural individuals with dementia and their caregivers are limited in availability and fit with primary health care attributes.

Enablers and barriers to delivering person centred dementia care: Perceptions and experiences of diagnostic and therapeutic radiography practitioners.

INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of evidence about the experiences of radiographers providing care to people living with dementia (PLWD). This study explored the perceptions and experiences of radiography practitioners when delivering person-centred dementia care (PCDC) in both diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy departments. METHODS: A two-phase qualitative multi-method study was conducted. For phase 1, fifteen diagnostic and two therapeutic radiography practitioners from across the UK participated with online focus group discussions. For phase 2, four key stakeholders involved with the development of the UK Society of College of Radiographers Caring for People with Dementia practice guidelines for diagnostic and therapeutic radiography practitioners took part with individual semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Participants from both phases identified enablers and barriers to providing person-centred care to individuals living with dementia. Three themes were identified that were linked to (1) Time and workload pressures in delivering person-centred dementia care, (2) Workplace practice and norms, and (3) Areas for improvement in delivering person-centred dementia care. DISCUSSION: Delivering PCDC can be challenging in practice. This is often due to workplace cultures where time and resources linked to productivity and waiting lists are the norms and impact on the delivery of PCDC. Leaders and managers of departments were thought to not always value a culture of PCDC but were seen as key influencers in supporting change and impact in delivering PCDC. Radiography practitioners were not always aware that a patient had dementia prior to their attendance in the department making it difficult to prepare ahead of appointments. Care partners were identified as having the potential to help alleviate some challenges radiographers faced. Findings also suggest a need for more education and training linked to dementia awareness. Further research is warranted in this area.

Understandings and Perceived Benefits of Outdoor-Based Support for People Living with Dementia.

The importance of the outdoors for supporting well-being is recognized, but less is known about the role of the outdoors in supporting people living with dementia. The aim of this study was to examine three stakeholder groups' understandings about outdoor-based support and care for people living with dementia to help understand what might be done to maximize the outdoors as a source of support for people living with dementia. Data were collected in Southern Ontario, Canada, between January and June 2023 via 1-1 interviews (n = 12); four focus groups (n = 17) with staff from organizations providing outdoor recreation or social programming; six in-person focus groups (n = 37); and 2 outdoor-based walking focus groups (n = 17) conducted with people living with dementia, care partners, and older adults. All interviews and focus groups, other than the walking focus groups where the field notes were used, were audio recorded and fully transcribed verbatim. Within and across data sets, thematic analysis was conducted. We report findings relating to the challenges of achieving full participation in outdoor-based activities; perceived physical, social, and mental health benefits of outdoor activities; stigma; and overcoming perceived risks. The importance of the outdoors for people living with dementia and their care partners is evident. There are implications for care policy and practice relating to the promotion of (social) health and well-being for people living with dementia.

Delivering person-centred dementia care: Perceptions of radiography practitioners within diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy departments.

INTRODUCTION: Despite abundant literature on the diagnosis of dementia, limited research has explored the lived experiences of radiography practitioners when providing care to people living with dementia in the department. OBJECTIVES: This qualitative study explored the perceptions and compatibility of current professional guidance by both diagnostic imaging and radiotherapeutic radiography practitioners as well as the key stakeholders involved with developing the Society and College of Radiographers clinical practice guidelines for caring for people with dementia. METHODS: This was a two-phase multi-method study. Fifteen diagnostic imaging and two therapeutic radiography practitioners from across the UK participated with online focus group discussions. Four key stakeholders involved with the development of the Society and College of Radiographers guidelines took part with individual semi-structured interviews. Data analysis included narrative and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants from both phases identified enablers and barriers to providing person-centred dementia care. Three superordinate themes were identified linked to (1) Working with care partners, (2) Departmental environmental design, and (3) Communication and interprofessional infrastructure. DISCUSSION: Many radiography practitioners still feel unprepared when caring for people living with dementia despite the clinical practice guidelines. Care partners were identified as having the potential to help alleviate some of the challenges radiographers faced. Participants were also aware of the impact of the departmental environment and recognised that poor way finding designs could lead to frustration. Radiography practitioners were not always aware that a patient was living with dementia prior to their attendance in the department making it difficult for practitioners to make appropriate accommodations such as additional time at appointments or the departmental environment. Our findings suggest there is a need for profession specific education and training for radiography practitioners to support the provision of person-centred dementia care. There is also a need to support the design of dementia friendly diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy departments.

Dementia knowledge and attitudes of the general public in Northern Ireland: an analysis of national survey data.

BACKGROUND: This paper provides an overview of the findings from the dementia module of the 2010 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey: an annual survey recording public attitudes to major social policy issues. Northern Ireland, in line with many other developed countries, recently released a Dementia Strategy. The opportunity to explore the knowledge and attitudes of the general public to dementia at a national level in Northern Ireland is timely and valuable. This paper reports on an initial exploration of these attitudes, based on bivariate analysis across demographic groups. METHODS: Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 19). Descriptive and summary statistics were produced. A series of categorical bivariate relationships were tested (chi-square) and tests of association (Cramer's V) were reported. We discuss both knowledge-related findings and attitudinal findings. RESULTS: We found that the general public in Northern Ireland have a reasonably good level of knowledge about dementia. However, attitudinal measures indicate the stereotyping and infantilization of people with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: This NILT module provides a unique source of data on attitudes to, and knowledge of, dementia. A key strength is that it provides statistically representative data with national level coverage. This information can be used to target public health education policies more effectively and to inform delivery of health and social services. The success of the module leads us to believe that it stands as a blue-print for collecting information on dementia in other social surveys.

An evaluation of an online postgraduate dementia studies program.

Education is key to addressing the challenges of providing high-quality care to the ever growing number of people with dementia. Although dementia education is required for multiple professions and disciplines working with people with dementia and their families and friends, there is a gap in knowledge of students' views about university-level online dementia education. This article reports on an evaluation, via an online questionnaire, of student views of the delivery modes and learning impact for the first online postgraduate program in Dementia Studies worldwide. The majority of our respondents (65%) reported their participation in the Dementia Studies program as broadening their thinking, with 61% reporting that it broadened their practice. Students also reported on the utility of initial face-to-face teaching and the extent to which they are able to apply their learning to practice. The article concludes by suggesting that a blended learning approach, comprising online and face-to-face teaching with an emphasis on reflexivity has the potential to meet the global demand for skilled dementia care practitioners and to create leaders in the dementia care field.

Music-making in the community with people living with dementia and care-partners - 'I'm leaving feeling on top of the world'.

Evidence exists relating to music-based initiatives and positive health outcomes for people living with dementia who can access them. Yet, knowledge about the impact of 'music-making' on the well-being of community-dwelling people with dementia is limited. Much of the existing evidence about the benefits of music is focused on care home settings where initiatives can be readily applied as part of a weekly schedule of activities. Therefore, this initiative aimed to provide opportunities to participate in music-making, to increase social interaction and ultimately well-being in a community environment. Ten music-making session were scheduled for community-dwelling people living with dementia and care-partners, once a month between September 2019 and March 2020. Three sessions did not take place due to Covid19. Eighteen participants consented to take part including seven people living with dementia, five care-partners and six former care-partners. Baseline semi-structured interviews explored the lived experience of music and expectations of the upcoming music-making cafes. Self-report questionnaires captured 'in the moment' experiences of each music-making cafe. Follow-up semi-structured interviews explored the impact of music-making on participants' self-reported well-being. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. The findings demonstrate that participating in the music-making café benefitted the self-reported well-being of participants in three ways: first, a sense of camaraderie that enabled the facilitation of connections with others; second, creating opportunities to 'level the playing field' by always assuming a person's strengths and abilities; and third, group participation in music-making meets a need for meaningful musical experiences. We conclude that participating in music-making is a powerful medium to promote well-being for community-dwelling people living with dementia and care-partners.