Comparison of the Adaptive Implementation and Evaluation of the Meeting Centers Support Program for People with Dementia and Their Family Carers in Europe; Study Protocol of the MEETINGDEM Project

Background
The MEETINGDEM study aims to implement and evaluate an innovative, inclusive, ap-proach to supporting community dwelling people with mild to moderate dementia and their family carers, called the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP), in three countries in the European Union (EU): Italy, Poland and United Kingdom. Demonstrated benefits of this person-centered approach, developed in The Netherlands, include high user satisfac-tion, reduced behavioral and mood problems, delayed admission to residential care, low-er levels of caregiving-related stress, higher carer competence, and improved collabora-tion between care and welfare organizations.

Methods
The project will be carried out over a 36 month period. Project partners in the three coun-tries will utilize, and adapt, strategies and tools developed in the Netherlands. In Phase One (month 1-18) activities will focus on establishing an initiative group of relevant organ-izations and user representatives in each country, exploring pathways to care and poten-tial facilitators and barriers to implementing the program, and developing country specific implementation plans and materials. In Phase Two (month 19-36) training will be provid-ed to organizations and staff, after which the meeting centers will be established and evaluated for impact on behavior, mood and quality of life of people with dementia and carers, cost-effectiveness, changes in service use, user satisfaction and implementation process.

Discussion
An overall evaluation will draw together findings from the three countries to develop rec-ommendations for successful implementation of MCSP across the EU. If the Meeting Cen-ters approach can be widely implemented, this could lead to major improvements in de-mentia care across Europe and beyond.