New Special Issue International Psychogeriatics on Social Health in dementia

Guest editors: Prof. Dr. Myrra Vernooij-Dassen, Prof. Dr. Esme  Moniz-Cook, Prof. Dr. Yun-Hee Jeon

The notion of social health as applied to dementia care research was introduced to redress the balance of empirical studies that tended to focus on biomedical, cognitive and functional status in dementia. Social health is an umbrella concept to study how social aspects influence the balance between potential and limitations. Consequently, people with dementia might both benefit and suffer from interactions with professionals, family and friends. The articles provide a picture of social engagement of persons with dementia in society, social interactions and social dynamics, and on exploring the potential for broader integration of social health with the neurosciences and other biomedical perspectives. The special issue presents studies from several regions around the world. By exploring the role of social health within interdisciplinary dementia research we can discover more about how people and their carers might live a better life over the course of dementia.