TY - CONF
T1 - How ‘Dementia Friendly’ is Air Travel? Identifying the barriers and facilitators to flying for people living with Dementia
AU - Turner, K
AU - Warren, A
AU - Bannigan, K
AU - Sherriff, I
PY - 2018/5/22
Y1 - 2018/5/22
N2 - Society is increasingly recognising that people living with dementia wish to remain actively involved in those activities that are most meaningful to them for as long as possible post diagnosis. However, as demonstrated by the issuing of the Prime Minister’s Challenge, there are still many areas in which accessibility for those living with dementia could be improved.
One area that has begun to receive increased attention as not meeting the needs of people living with dementia is air travel. Whilst legislation that covers inclusivity in flying for those with disabilities is already in place, it is considered that such legislation is widely interpreted in favour of those with physical, rather than ‘hidden’, disabilities; a term used to encompass not just dementia but also autism, learning disabilities and others, reducing access for this large and growing group.
This poster will provide an overview of a current study that aims to capture the air travel experiences of those living with dementia and their travel companions. Ultimately this research seeks to increase participation in air travel for people living with dementia and to address the potential injustice of non-participation due to factors outside an individual’s control. By holding face to face interviews with participants, the Researcher will gather experiences of how a diagnosis of dementia may affect a person’s meaningful engagement with the occupation of air travel and thus impact on their quality of life.
The results of the study will be presented to The Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Group for Air Transport and will also help to inform guidelines for the aviation industry on how they can best support people living with dementia in the future.
AB - Society is increasingly recognising that people living with dementia wish to remain actively involved in those activities that are most meaningful to them for as long as possible post diagnosis. However, as demonstrated by the issuing of the Prime Minister’s Challenge, there are still many areas in which accessibility for those living with dementia could be improved.
One area that has begun to receive increased attention as not meeting the needs of people living with dementia is air travel. Whilst legislation that covers inclusivity in flying for those with disabilities is already in place, it is considered that such legislation is widely interpreted in favour of those with physical, rather than ‘hidden’, disabilities; a term used to encompass not just dementia but also autism, learning disabilities and others, reducing access for this large and growing group.
This poster will provide an overview of a current study that aims to capture the air travel experiences of those living with dementia and their travel companions. Ultimately this research seeks to increase participation in air travel for people living with dementia and to address the potential injustice of non-participation due to factors outside an individual’s control. By holding face to face interviews with participants, the Researcher will gather experiences of how a diagnosis of dementia may affect a person’s meaningful engagement with the occupation of air travel and thus impact on their quality of life.
The results of the study will be presented to The Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Group for Air Transport and will also help to inform guidelines for the aviation industry on how they can best support people living with dementia in the future.
KW - Accessibility
KW - Air Travel
KW - Dementia
KW - Occupational Justice
KW - Occupational Therapy
M3 - Conference paper (not formally published)
ER -