title: 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.
abstract: The MEETINGDEM study aims to implement and evaluate an innovative, inclusive, approach 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 satisfaction, reduced behavioral and mood problems, delayed admission to residential care, lower levels of caregiving-related stress, higher carer competence, and improved collaboration between care and welfare organizations.
  
  
  
  The project will be carried out over a 36 month period. Project partners in the three countries 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 organizations and user representatives in each country, exploring pathways to care and potential facilitators and barriers to implementing the program, and developing country specific implementation plans and materials. In Phase Two (month 19‑36) training will be provided 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.
  
  
  
  An overall evaluation will draw together findings from the three countries to develop recommendations for successful implementation of MCSP across the EU. If the Meeting Centers approach can be widely implemented, this could lead to major improvements in dementia care across Europe and beyond.
  
  
  
  The trial was retrospectively registered in May 2016: trial number: NTR5936 .
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, VU University medical center/GGZinGeest, Postbox 74077, 1070 BB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. rm.droes@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Dröes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, VU University medical center/GGZinGeest, Postbox 74077, 1070 BB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F J M
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Meiland
authors.affiliation: Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR26AJ, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR26AJ, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brooker
authors.affiliation: Santa Maria Nascente IRCCS Clinical Research Center, Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Via Alfonso Capecelatro 66, 20148, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Farina
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura 10, 50-367, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Szcześniak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, VU University medical center/GGZinGeest, Postbox 74077, 1070 BB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Van Mierlo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Triumph Road, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Pasteura 10, 50-367, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rymaszewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chattat
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Carer competence; Dementia; Effect evaluation; Implementation process; Meeting Centers Support Program; Person-centered approach