iSupport
iSupport is a self-help skills and training programme for carers of people living with dementia. Worldwide, around 57 million people are living with dementia. Supporting a person living with dementia can cause significant psychological and emotional impact on families and carers. iSupport aims to prevent and/or decrease mental and physical health problems associated with caregiving and to improve the quality of life of those caring for people living with dementia.
In five modules, iSupport provides education on what dementia is and how to respond to common challenges of caregiving. The five modules are:
- Introduction to dementia
- Being a caregiver
- Caring for me
- Providing everyday care
- Dealing with behaviour changes
Carers can choose to work through all modules and lessons consecutively, or select the lesson(s) that are the most relevant to their everyday lives. Lessons consist of brief readings, descriptive examples and several exercises.
iSupport was conceptualized and developed as an online training programme. However, in areas of the world with limited internet bandwidth or low digital literacy, the iSupport hardcopy manual can be printed and used offline
iSupport Lite
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting breakdown of community-based services for people living with dementia and their carers emphasized the importance of providing carers with accessible public health messages to reduce stress and improve their mental health and wellbeing. WHO’s iSupport Lite provides a series of practical support messages for carers of people living with dementia extracted from iSupport.
For carers who have already completed the comprehensive iSupport programme, iSupport Lite can be used as a refresher, reinforcing previously acquired caregiving skills and knowledge. The iSupport Lite posters focus on the following topics:
mDementia
iSupport content has also been extracted to create a comprehensive message library for WHO’s mDementia, an mHealth toolkit on dementia risk reduction and carer support developed by BeHealthBeMobile (BHBM), a joint mHealth initiative between WHO and the International Telecommunications Union.
The module on carer support (mDementiaSupport) provides tailored support messages to address the physical and mental health impacts associated with caring for people with dementia that can be turned into a mobile and concise version of WHO’s iSupport using for example text messaging technology.
iSupport country adaptations
To ensure that iSupport is culturally relevant and appropriate, iSupport can be translated and adapted to national contexts and needs. The iSupport network is a support mechanism for researchers and implementers to share good practice examples on iSupport and implementation for different populations, countries, and cultures. If you want to adapt iSupport for your country, or want to learn more about the iSupport network, please contact us at whodementia@who.int. Culturally and linguistically adapted iSupport versions
iSupport virtual courses
iSupport hardcopy manual
Multimedia
