− The aim of the project is to help create sustainable and competency-enhancing services for people with dementia by finding new ways to involve users and their next of kin in service development. − The project is also going to help reduce the shame, stigma, and taboo associated with dementia, so that people affected are seeking help at an early stage. − Testing of Peer Support Workers in dementia care, primary for next of kin, but also for people in an early stage of dementia − Establish collaboration with involved parties in the project across countries − Find out what the status is of the services for people with dementia in selected municipalities. Clarify the role and function of experienced staff in dementia − Develop guidelines for PSW in dementia care − Disseminate information about the project to involved parties and other interested parties − Raising awareness about the status of elderly people/dementia as well as about the peer support workers and family caregivers in all participant countries.
Services need to be developed where the elderly and their family can contribute on their own premises and on the basis of what they believe is important and meaningful to them. This will have to involve strengthening the user perspective and more emphasis on alternative thinking in the services. Alternative in the sense that the individual and next of kin must have more influence and control over services provided and decide what works. In this context, the use of peers and experienced workers may be appropriate measures. In recent years, in the health and welfare services, Peer Support Workers have been employed as a resource to promote the user perspective, strengthen the recovery orientation and better tailor the services to the needs of the users. When it comes to services for people with dementia, this has not yet been tested in Norway, but in the UK, there has been testing of such services on a small scale (Stott et al., 2017). There are two possible types of Peer Support Workers. (1) People in the early stages of developing dementia, and (2) next of kin to people with dementia.