Social Justice

We will discuss a social justice framework of dementia health, why acknowledging a history of trauma coupled with increasing access to grief-based therapies is necessary in any just society. First, we will explore dementia and a subset of symptoms, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) by using three models: medical, integrative, and rights-based. Second, we will explore why highlighting agency and identity are important factors within dementia health by grounding our conversation within the exploration of three key areas: multimorbidity, symptomology, and resilience. Third, we will explore two components of the dimensions of social justice model: liberatory critical consciousness and empowerment, which are most applicable to dementia health and in particular the development of DGT. Fourth, we will explore modifiable lifestyle factors from the perspective of social justice and the role access to health promotion resources play in individual and community health. Last, we will investigate why considering the history of traumatic experiences is a necessary and important component to the field of dementia health as well as the lived experience with dementia symptoms.