On 18 October, the Sant Cugat Campus hosted the 9th Interdisciplinary Approach to the Elderly, under the title How does Alzheimer’s disease impact our lives? Dr Encarna Rodríguez, director of the UIC Barcelona Department of Nursing, was in charge of opening the seminar and welcoming the attendees. Student Marta Guerra moderated the discussion that brought together expert speakers on the main topic of the meeting.

In this edition, the president of the Association for Family Members of Alzheimer's Patients (AFA) of the Vallès Occidental area, Anna Fito Badal, participated in the round table discussion and was accompanied by two members of the Association who shared their experiences: Gloria Alarcon, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease and lives in a residential care home, and Pilar Tarrago, a nurse diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease one year ago. Elisabeth Calvo, advanced practice nurse for dementia care at the Hospital Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili, also spoke at the seminar. The presentations by speakers gave the attendees a closer look at reality of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and the family members who support them. They also talked about the resources for assistance that are offered by the public health system and by associations like AFA.

After the coffee break, the 4th year nursing students presented their papers in oral presentations in poster format. The papers focused on Alzheimer's disease experiences from different perspectives: testimony analyses, review of the literature, and perception survey analyses. These papers highlighted the great impact that Alzheimer's disease has on our lives, as well as the lack of support that exists many times for the families, who often are the primary caregivers and all the emotional burden that entails. 

After the break, Carla Álvarez, president of the Scientific Committee, read the conclusions of the seminar and presented the awards. The prize for best oral presentation was awarded to Anna Batet and Marta Guerra for the paper Emotions experienced by family members of people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease: a descriptive cross-sectional study. The prize for best poster was awarded to Cristina Fernández and Inmaculada Martín, for the poster Review of the literature on echolalia (repetition of spoken words) in Alzheimer’s disease.

Lastly, Teresa Cerezo and Sara Cano, nurses at the Hospital General Universitari de Catalunya, gave the closing address. Alejandra Jover, president of the Organising Committee, spoke a few words of thanks to the participants and attendees and closed the seminar.

Participating organisations: Enfermanía, Grupo Paradigma and Bimbo