‘iSupport’ was developed by the World Health Organization as an online training and support programme for dementia carers to help them provide good care and take care of themselves. It aims to reduce stress and improve knowledge and the quality of life of people caring for a person living with dementia.
Our research generated four versions of iSupport which are free to use. Each of these include five topics:
- Introduction to dementia
- Being a caregiver
- Caring for me
- Providing everyday care
- Dealing with behaviour changes
You can choose to work through the topics and content in turn or select the topics that are the most relevant and useful to you.
iSupport for Adult carers
iSupport for Adult carers in the UK is relevant to carers aged 18 and over providing care to someone living with Alzheimer’s Disease or Vascular Dementia.
iSupport for Rare Dementias
iSupport for rare dementia carers was adapted from the adult version in collaboration with carers and professionals supporting people living with non-memory led dementias. It is relevant to carers of people living with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) Lewy Body Dementia, Fronto-temporal dementia (FTD).
iSupport for Young People
iSupport for young people was adapted from the adult version in collaboration with young carers. It is relevant to young people aged 11-17 with a family member or friend living with dementia. This is also available in Welsh.
Translating iSupport for Young People
We have collaborated with researchers in Brazil and Spain, who have translated iSupport for Young People into Brazilian-Portuguese and Spanish, and through our work at Bangor University into Welsh. Website coming soon.
iSupport for South Asian carers
iSupport for South Asian carers was adapted from the adult version in collaboration with community groups. It is relevant to adults aged 18 and over and available in Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi or English.
CPD course: An Introduction to iSupport for Young People
This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course will provide information and guidance to professionals and families on how to use iSupport for Young People to best support young people who help care for a family member with dementia
Video: Introducing iSupport for Young People
Working alongside young people, we created iSupport for Young People to provide information and tips on caring for a family member with dementia, to support the mental health, knowledge and skills of young dementia carers
Our Research on the iSupport Programme
You can read more about our clinical trial on the iSupport Programme from our Bangor University website
Adapting iSupport: Brief information sheet
We welcome any adaptations, and we would love to hear from any research group or organisation that is thinking about carrying one out. You can download a short guide to help in this work.
These websites were developed as part of the iSupport research programme, a collaboration led by Professor Gill Windle at Bangor University. They were copied from the online iSupport for dementia programme iSupportForDementia.org Version 1.0, World Health Organisation, Copyright (2018). Adapted and translated with kind permission from the WHO.
The iSupport research programme was carried out across three countries in the UK.
Wales - Bangor University: Professor Gill Windle, Dr. Patricia Masterson Algar (lead of young carers adaptation), Dr. Zoe Hoare, Nia Goulden, Professor Rhiannon Tudor Edwards, Dr. Carys Jones, Dr. Kat Algar-Skaife, Dr. Bethany Anthony, Greg Flynn, Gwenllian Hughes, Bethan Naunton Morgan (ESRC PhD student and lead of the rare dementias adaptation, supervised by Prof. Gill Windle and Dr. Carolien Lamers), Carers Trust Wales.
England - University College London: Professor Joshua Stott (co-lead for South Asian adaptation); Professor Aimee Spector (co-lead for South Asian adaptation), Emily Fisher, Danielle Proctor, Suman Kurana, Banika Ahuja, Afra Azadi, Aziza Begum, Saleyha Mahmood, Nuvera Mukaty, Gurmel Singh. Age UK Lancashire: Alison Read. Carers Centre Tower Hamlets: Graham Collins, Tony Collins-Moore. Dementia Pathfinders: . Barbara Stephens. Lancashire BME Network: Nazma Islam-Khan. Touchstone Support: Gurbinder Virdee, Ripaljeet Kaur.
Scotland - Strathclyde University: Dr. Kieren Egan, John Connaghan, Fatene Abakar Ismail, Ryan Innes, Alzheimer Scotland.
Adaptations to iSupport were made in Articulate Storyline 360 and Microsoft Word by Catherine Wasiuk, CNW853 Digital Learning Consultancy Ltd.
Images created by Sokyo Jung, studiosokyo.
The iSupport research programme was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme (project reference NIHR130914). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
© 2024 Bangor University. All rights reserved.
If you are interested in translating and adapting any of our iSupport websites for your country, or discussing accessing related copyright material owned by Bangor University, please contact dsdc@bangor.ac.uk