Navigating the aisles: Assessing dementia-friendliness of a supermarket as part of a university seminar

05/30/23 • 9 min

2 Listeners

Written by Dr Vitor Zimmerer, Artemis Bekiari, Hafsa Qureshi, Lidia Slominski, James Taylor-Anton and narrated by the authors.

In this blog, the authors share their experience of assessing the dementia-friendliness of a local supermarket as part of a university seminar. They discuss the importance of creating dementia-friendly environments to improve the autonomy and comfort of people with dementia. The students evaluated the supermarket using a checklist provided by the National Dementia Action Alliance and identified several areas for improvement. Issues included confusing signage, illogical placement of products, lack of clear checkout information, absence of quiet spaces and seating, and potential sources of confusion like transparent doors. The authors highlight the need for increased awareness and changes in supermarket design to better cater to the needs of people with dementia. They also discuss international examples and technical solutions that have been implemented to create dementia-friendly retail spaces. Overall, the exercise provided the students with practical experience in ethical people-centered design and highlighted the importance of accessibility and inclusivity for all customers.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-navigating-the-aisles-assessing-dementia-friendliness-of-supermarkets/

Dr Vitor Zimmerer is a Lecturer is the Department of Language and Cognition, University College London. Vitor studied linguistics at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, and has a PhD in Human Communication Sciences from the University of Sheffield. He is very interested in the effects of neurological damage and atypical development on language and study a range of populations including dementia and aphasia, also how language can be used as a marker of cognitive change.

Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.

Written by Dr Vitor Zimmerer, Artemis Bekiari, Hafsa Qureshi, Lidia Slominski, James Taylor-Anton and narrated by the authors.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-navigating-the-aisles-assessing-dementia-friendliness-of-supermarkets/

Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.

Previous Episode

Dr Clarissa Giebel - How the Applied Research Collaboration influenced my career in dementia research

2 Recommendations

Dr Clarissa Giebel narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher.

Clarissa explains how the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) has shaped her career, highlighting the benefits of public involvement, collaborative working, and impactful projects such as a board game on dementia inequalities. She also emphasizes the privilege of supervising early-career researchers in vital areas of study.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-how-the-arc-influenced-my-career-in-dementia-research/

Dr Clarissa Giebel is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and NIHR ARC North West Coast. Clarissa has been working in dementia care research for over 10 years focusing her research on helping people with dementia to live at home independently and well for longer, addressing inequalities that people with dementia and carers can face. Outside of her day work, Clarissa has also organised a local dementia network - the Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, and has recently started her own podcast called the Ageing Scientist.

If you would like to write your own blog drop us a line, we're always on the look out for new contributors to write about their research, careers + more [email protected]

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.

Next Episode

Dr Yvonne Couch - How to Make a Female Professor

2 Recommendations

Dr Yvonne Couch, narrates her blog written for the Dementia Researcher website.

In this blog Yvonne explores the challenges women face in academia and the need for cultural change. Despite increasing female representation in scientific fields, many women disappear from the academic pipeline, and even fewer make it to becoming a full Professors. So how do you deal with this? Continue to push more and more ECRs into the system, or take a more holistic approach? The article suggests strategies to retain and support women in their careers, emphasising the importance of organisational and systemic change.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-how-to-make-a-female-professor/

Dr Yvonne Couch is an Alzheimer's Research UK Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. Yvonne studies the role of extracellular vesicles and their role in changing the function of the vasculature after stroke, aiming to discover why the prevalence of dementia after stroke is three times higher than the average. It is her passion for problem solving and love of science that drives her, in advancing our knowledge of disease. Yvonne writes about her work, academic life, and careers as she takes a new road into independent research @dr_yvonne_couch

Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.