The social responsibility project titled "Remember Me," launched in collaboration between Üsküdar Üniversitesi and the Darülaceze Presidency, offers hope for residents of the institution diagnosed with mild-stage dementia. The project, which aims for happy aging, is coordinated by Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Gümüş Demir, with the support of Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, and carried out by Assist. Prof. Dr. Remziye Keskin and Lecturer İdil Arasan Doğan. Dr. Nebiye Yaşar serves as the project consultant.
Within the scope of the project, joint activities are carried out for ten weeks at the Darülaceze Presidency in Şişli.
It became a time frame that opened doors to the positive theme of relationships
While the project is eagerly anticipated by the elderly each week, it offers a time frame for shared activities, where the power of being a group is felt, and which opens doors to the positive theme of interpersonal relationships.
The psychoeducation on 'Dementia Disease' given by experts to the institution's staff within the scope of the project is also seen as one of its positive outcomes.
Lecturer İdil Arasan Doğan: "Dementia group diseases also bring the problem of care to the agenda"
Lecturer İdil Arasan Doğan, who is involved in the research and implementation part of the project, provided information about the project. Doğan said: "The increase in the elderly population brings with it dementia group diseases, which are more common and have become a global public health problem, and also bring the problem of care to the agenda. While it is known that institutional care is preferred by elderly individuals and their families, especially with modern societal lifestyles, nursing homes or care homes stand out at this point. Dementia, considered one of the primary reasons for institutional care, is accepted as a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome that manifests itself with significant losses in behavior, daily living activities, and intellectual activities, causing impairments in memory and thought systems. Although there is a great need for studies conducted by NGOs or volunteers in the dementia group, which involves long-term care and care burden, it has been observed that these studies are few. With the project we carried out at the Darülaceze Presidency, which stands out as one of these institutions, it was seen that group activities applied to our elderly with mild dementia had a constructive role in interpersonal relationships, provided a positive impetus to self-perception, and increased positive emotions by contributing to the decreasing course of depressive and anxious symptoms."
Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Gümüş Demir: "The aim of the project is to draw attention to happy aging"
Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Gümüş Demir from the Psychology Department of Üsküdar Üniversitesi stated that they aim to draw attention to the development of elderly individuals in society with the project; "During the planned ten weeks, elderly individuals divided into two groups simultaneously received reminiscence group therapy and cognitive stimulation group therapy. In addition, an informative awareness seminar was offered to the caregiving staff for Darülaceze residents. With this project, our goal is to draw attention to the development, health, active aging, and happy aging of elderly individuals in society. We hope that many more beautiful projects like 'Remember Me' will come to life."
Hamza Cebeci: "Üsküdar Üniversitesi places serious importance on social issues"
Presidential Advisor and Darülaceze President Hamza Cebeci, who met with the project executors and implementers from Üsküdar Üniversitesi, stated that they appreciate the young academics personally engaging with the residents. Cebeci said: "This is our third major project with Üsküdar Üniversitesi. The university places serious importance on social issues, and I commend them for that. It is also a special beauty that they choose Darülaceze as a stakeholder. Including our elderly in projects like 'Remember Me' demonstrates that they live more actively here and receive attention, making the residents happy. Based on the information they provide us, we have the opportunity to enter into a new dialogue with our residents. It is excellent for universities to conduct such studies. If a technology university does not take its students to the industrial sector, does not cooperate with them, is not in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, and if universities conduct studies on the needs of the aging population, dementia, Alzheimer's, how their lifestyles should be improved, and what kind of work should be done regarding these, it both increases the quality of the university and contributes to such institutions. At this point, we appreciate the active involvement of Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan from Üsküdar Üniversitesi, and the personal engagement of young academics with the residents."
Project Closing Meeting on December 13th at Darülaceze…
The closing meeting of the 10-week project will be held on December 13, 2023, at the Darülaceze Presidency, with the participation of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Presidential Advisor and Darülaceze President Hamza Cebeci, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector's Advisor and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, and the project coordinators.
News- Photo: Ceyda Nur İshakoğlu