Participatory video as a method for enhancing involvement for people with dementia

2014 Conference

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a study funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s School for Social Care Research. It involved 15 people with dementia aged between 76 and 99 years of age who live in residential care. Because it is very easy for people in this situation to be left out of service user consultation, we wanted to find out whether a film-making approach called Participatory Video could help. Each of the participants could decide individually what they wanted their film to be about and who is allowed to see it. They chose the images to include, and can be heard in the films talking about things that are of importance to them. In this way we have tried to shift the power imbalance that can often arise between professionals, researchers and people with dementia.

Ten out of 15 participants completed short films, and our findings suggest that Participatory Video (PV) is a good way of helping people with dementia to have a voice. We assessed the impact of PV on well-being, social participation, and range of activity. We believe that the unique character of each participant comes through in their films. The films may also be useful to raise public awareness and to include in staff training. This paper will discuss the main findings from the study and its implication for service user involvement for people with dementia and other seldom heard groups.