In our world, the use of the Internet makes it easier to seek help and medical information for all of us but especially for people in isolated areas, where access to health services and psychological support is limited. In these cases, the internet is a lifeline for seeking help. At the same time, however, its misuse is undermined by many risks: in which medical information to believe, where to search for, what do we have to watch out for when we look for such serious information on the internet?
For all the above reasons, the training of caregivers of people with dementia in the proper use of the Internet in order to search for medical information concerning both patients and themselves is of the utmost importance.
Alzheimer Athens, in cooperation with four other countries, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria and Poland, participates in a European Erasmus + program since November 2018. The aim of this program is to educate caregivers of people with dementia on the use of the Internet and to properly find medical information and psychological support in relation to dementia. Within this program, forms will be created for training caregivers in the use of computers and the correct search and retrieval of information via the Internet. Furthermore, an online platform with all the necessary information will be created to allow even to the most isolated caregivers to be trained. Finally, the whole effort will be tested in groups of caregivers in order to have some results and demonstrate its usefulness.
The first meeting of the group involved in this Erasmus + program will take place in 12th to 15th of December 2018 in Athens, hosted by Alzheimer Athens.
Nikoletta Geronikola
Psychologist
Alzheimer Athens magazine