Who are the partners in SPREAD+?

SPREAD+ is a collaboration between 12 research institutions. It forms part of the Dementia Research Programme. SPREAD+ is funded by ZonMW and Health Holland.

Through this collaboration, new partners and companies will also join the core consortium at a later stage.

Who’s who?

Prof. Dr Marjolein de Vugt (Alzheimer Centrum Limburg) is the Principal Investigator of SPREAD+ and leads the consortium.

Co-project leaders are Prof. Dr Debby Gerritsen (scientific manager; RadboudUMC/UKON) and Dr Simone de Bruin (implementation manager; Windesheim University of Applied Sciences). The late Prof. Dr Sytse Zuidema was innovation manager (University Network for Elderly Care, UMC Groningen).

The research is divided into seven so-called work packages (you can read more about these under ‘What kind of research?’). These are led by:

1. Prof. Dr Marjolein de Vugt
2. Dr Roeslan Leontjevas (RadboudUMC/UKON and the Open University)
3. Prof. Dr Marjolein de Vugt
4. Dr Dika Luijendijk (UMCG)
5. Dr Sarah Janus (UMCG)
6. Dr Michael Echteld (Pharos)
7. Dr Simone de Bruin

Dr Sietske Sikkes (VUmc) is responsible for data harmonisation and data management. Dr Sascha Bolt (Tranzo, Tilburg University) focuses on co-creation and stakeholder participation.

Collaborating partners

These organisations are collaborating within SPREAD+:

• Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, lead applicant
• Radboudumc Alzheimer Centre/UKON
• University Network for Elderly Care, UMC Groningen
• Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
• Tilburg University
• Trimbos Institute
• Amsterdam Alzheimer’s Centre
• Alzheimer Centrum Groningen
• Pharos Centre of Expertise Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
• Utrecht University of Applied Sciences
• InHolland University of Applied Sciences
• Erasmus Alzheimer Centre

Read more

• Zonmw.nl: about the Dementia Research Programme.
• IM Sytse Zuidema: umcg.nl

Living better with dementia: what works for whom and when?

There are many interventions for dementia that have been proven to work, but are rarely used. This is because they do not properly align with the wishes of people with dementia. SPREAD+ aims to improve this.

SPREAD+ aims to bring together research, education and practice. The research comprises seven so-called work packages. Each has its own focus, but contributes to the same goal: delivering appropriate care, in the right place, at the right time.

Within work packages 2, 3 and 4, new interventions are being developed or existing ones further refined. Work packages 1, 5, 6 and 7 are more overarching, focusing on areas such as the use of technology, inclusivity, knowledge sharing and implementation.

A strong foundation, better results

One of the factors determining the success and applicability of research is the involvement of the target groups. This (along with other organisational preconditions) forms part of work package 1. How do you ensure that target groups can contribute effectively to the process? What are the target group’s wishes and needs? And which of these take priority? But also: how do you collect and manage all (personal) data intelligently and correctly?

What is needed for wellbeing?

What do people with dementia, their informal carers and healthcare professionals actually need to feel (and continue to feel) well? What factors influence this? And which of these can be improved? This is where SPREAD+ begins in Work Package 2: identifying what is important. Next, we’ll look at which existing interventions can help and what’s needed to put them into practice.

Lifestyle: what works for whom?

What you eat, how active you are and what your living environment is like: your lifestyle and your surroundings influence how well you feel. That is why, in Work Package 3, researchers are engaging in dialogue with people with dementia, their informal carers and healthcare professionals. What helps them in their daily lives, and what doesn’t? Consider, for example, social contacts, daily routines and the layout of their living environment. In this way, SPREAD+ researchers aim to identify (or improve) lifestyle interventions that truly meet the needs of the target group.

Preventing crisis situations

Ideally, you want to prevent crisis situations – such as emergency admissions – and health problems in people with dementia. How can you identify problems at an earlier stage? And how do you ensure that care is always well suited to the individual? In Work Package 4, SPREAD+ is investigating what healthcare professionals and case managers need in order to support people with dementia as healthily and safely as possible. This includes issues such as medication use, fall prevention and managing behavioural changes. This information helps the researchers to ensure that interventions are (better) aligned with care practice.

Technology: practical and appealing

There is already a great deal of technology available to help with dementia. Yet, in practice, it is not yet widely used. In Work Package 5, SPREAD+ is investigating why this is the case. When do such interventions using technological tools really add value? For whom and in what situations? And what is needed to ensure they do indeed meet the needs of people with dementia, their informal carers and care professionals?

Making interventions inclusive

Many interventions are designed for ‘the average Dutch person’. But what if your background, culture or situation doesn’t fit that profile at all? In Work Package 6, SPREAD+ is investigating how interventions can be better tailored to people from different backgrounds. So that everyone with dementia receives appropriate support.

Aligning with education

If an innovation does not align with real-world practice, there is little chance that healthcare professionals will be able to put it into practice. SPREAD+ is therefore investigating, in Work Package 7, what healthcare providers need in order to learn. What topics should be covered, and how?
SPREAD+ is also looking at how new knowledge can be put to practical use in education and in practice. There are already many learning communities in the Netherlands, brimming with valuable knowledge. However, this knowledge is still not shared widely enough. How can we better connect them? SPREAD+ is committed to establishing a learning network in which professionals continue to learn together and innovative ideas find their way into practice more quickly.

And SPREAD+ wants to go one step further: to disseminate effective interventions more widely. There are, in fact, many effective interventions, but they often remain confined to a single location. SPREAD+ is investigating how such successes can be disseminated more effectively, so that more people can benefit from them.

See also the article about SPREAD+ on zonmw.nl.

A range of methods, always involving the people concerned

SPREAD+ investigates psychosocial and technological interventions, primarily through psychosocial research and feasibility studies.

In addition, SPREAD+ uses interviews, questionnaires, observations and focus groups to understand what is needed to ensure interventions are fit for purpose.

SPREAD+’s research is practice-oriented. Researchers almost always work alongside the people for whom the interventions are intended: people with dementia, their informal carers and healthcare professionals.

Psychosocial research

What helps you feel well? What do you need to live comfortably with dementia? To answer these questions, researchers talk to people with dementia, their informal carers and healthcare professionals. SPREAD+ also explores other ways of finding out, such as questionnaires that people complete themselves and observations in real-life settings. By listening carefully and recognising recurring patterns, researchers find answers.

Identifying risks and challenges

SPREAD+ is identifying risks and areas for improvement in care, to find out what healthcare professionals and case managers need to support people with dementia as healthily and safely as possible. For example, if someone with dementia needs to be taken to hospital urgently. Or in situations where care is not properly coordinated.

To this end, researchers use interviews, questionnaires and practical observations to identify areas for improvement.

Feasibility studies

In so-called feasibility studies, SPREAD+ investigates whether psychosocial and technological interventions work not only in theory but also in practice. Are they useful in the daily lives of people with dementia and their loved ones? Do they fit in with how care professionals work? Do professionals have confidence in them and are they willing to use them? These questions are central to the research. The exact methods for measuring this will be determined when the feasibility studies begin.

Case studies, interviews and focus groups

Research into what is needed to make interventions more inclusive and sustainable is being carried out through, amongst other things, case studies, interviews and focus groups. For example, with people from migrant backgrounds, those with limited health literacy or a small social network.

Workshops and networking

To ensure knowledge is applied in healthcare practice and education, SPREAD+ organises working sessions in collaboration with healthcare training programmes; SPREAD+ is also building a national learning network. This enables new knowledge to be passed on more quickly to future professionals. SPREAD+ collaborates with relevant stakeholders to conduct research and promote the application of effective interventions.

Collaboration with the target groups

The experiences of people with dementia, their informal carers and healthcare professionals are indispensable to SPREAD+’s research. Researchers join existing networks, visit meeting places and go to people’s homes. SPREAD+ does not operate through a central target group committee, but via locally tailored approaches: in each region, SPREAD+ identifies which individuals and associated organisations can be involved. To identify experiences and needs, SPREAD+ involves target groups through focus groups, for example. In this way, SPREAD+ works together, step by step, to develop better interventions.

Expert advice

The Expert & Advisory Committee comprises Prof. Hilde Verbeek (chair) and experts from various fields, such as dementia care, psychosocial research, the business sector, implementation science, methodology and technology. They meet several times a year to reflect, offer advice and contribute ideas on the approach and reporting.

Practical knowledge for better dementia care

SPREAD+ provides practical, actionable knowledge. This includes recommendations, toolkits, training courses and guidelines, developed for and with people with dementia, their carers and healthcare professionals.

Whether everything is delivered exactly as planned naturally depends on how the research progresses. But this is the current state of play.

Scientific publications

The themes reflect current issues in practice. SPREAD+ aims to produce a number of scientific publications on these topics. How do you ensure that someone with dementia feels well? What helps to promote a healthy lifestyle? How do you use technology safely? And how do you ensure that no one is left behind? This will enable other researchers and intervention developers to make use of this knowledge.

Insight into missing interventions

SPREAD+ has carried out a literature review of existing interventions and assessed what needs exist. People with dementia, their loved ones and care professionals then indicated which needs they consider important in practice. These findings are currently used mainly internally, but the intention is to share them with others at a later stage. This enables researchers to identify gaps in the range of interventions available; subsequently, those who develop and disseminate interventions (researchers, care organisations and policymakers) can better align their provision with what the target group actually needs.

Sharing what works

During the project, SPREAD+ is learning a great deal about what does and does not work in practice. The researchers would like to share these lessons more widely with healthcare professionals and policymakers who wish to put them into practice; but in a format that is practical and easy to use. For example, a static report on a website quickly falls by the wayside. That is why SPREAD+ is working on a suitable format, such as an interactive PDF where you can easily filter by target group, setting or type of intervention. SPREAD+ intends to continue updating this in future with insights from research and practice.

SPREAD+ is also working on a set of practical guidelines (a toolkit) for inclusive research.

Recommendations for educational programmes

SPREAD+ develops recommendations and shares lessons learnt for practical application. The aim is to incorporate up-to-date knowledge about dementia into education. As lecturers often decide for themselves how to structure their lessons – for example, on care for older people – SPREAD+ helps them get started with inspiring examples and practical lessons on dementia. Work has also been carried out to compile experiences from learning communities, resulting in seven lessons on collaboration between practice, research and education, published on Alzheimer Nederland.nl.