A reflection on Zest in 2023 from participants

Here’s what we heard in 2023 about Zest from participants

A group of people, some standing, some seated are holding hands on the floor of a big theatre.image credit: Andrew Hayes-Watkins

Zest is for people living with dementia and our supporters. Participants give feedback regularly, and every year take part in a survey to find out the difference Zest might be making to our community.

Some people with dementia who take part in Zest live and attend alone, some come with a supporter and in some cases supporters use Zest as the chance for a short break. In 2023, carers were supported by Bright Shadow to have a total of 539 hours of short breaks.

Here’s what we heard in 2023:

Pie charts showing how participants rate Zest overall. People living with dementia on the left shows a rating of 60% good, and 40% excellent. Supporters on the right shows a don't know rating of 17%, good rating of 33% and excellent rating of 50%.

Our participants’ overall rating of Zest is overwhelmingly positive; generally once someone has joined one of our Zest groups, they tend to come along on a long-term, regular basis which in and of itself can be seen as a measure of how valued the groups are. It’s great to see this backed up with these responses.

Receiving a dementia diagnosis can be a scary and isolating time. NHS England states “the more common effects on people with dementia include depression or anxiety, loss of confidence or withdrawal due to lack of social interaction, and disorientation with changes in routine.” Support from our regular Zest sessions can play a crucial role in creating the framework to continue living a fulfilling life.

A Sense of Achievement

Zest sessions bring in specialist artists from across a wide range of disciplines, offering all participants a chance to try out something new. We can see from responses to our question about whether Zest helps with a feeling of achievement, that this exposure to ‘new’ or more developed creative skills is beneficial.

2 pie charts showing frequency of feeling a sense of achievement at Zest. 20% of people living with dementia felt this occasionally, a further 20% felt this some of the time, and 60% felt it often or always. 17% of supporters didn't know if they felt a sense of achievement, and 83% felt they often or always felt this.

“Having memory problems, Zest has helped me maintain some of my independence and confidence. I love all the activities that we do and being introduced to new things. It has encouraged me to do things for myself.”

Loneliness and Isolation

In the Alzheimer’s Society report The Impact of Covid-19 on People Affected by Dementia 66% of those surveyed said their most important care need was help coping with loneliness and isolation but sadly we know opportunities for social time tend to reduce after diagnosis due to stigma and lack of appropriate support; that’s why we’ve developed Zest and ensured all our groups are in communities ranked as ‘High Risk’ or ‘Very High Risk’ on the Age UK Loneliness Heatmap.

Loneliness is experienced differently for those with a dementia diagnosis and by supporters as our data shows.

It is very sad that so many people living with or affected by dementia feel lonely or isolated, but it is encouraging that for those who attend, Zest helps to reduce these feelings. For supporters, this can be particularly important; you can read more about this in our Theoretical Basis of Zest.

A chance to socialise

We know that one of the benefits of Zest is in the social aspect of our sessions. Zest is a place where long-term sustaining friendships are forged and our groups just wouldn’t be the same without time for tea, coffee and biscuits to wrap up each week! Social time offers the opportunity to check in with each other, share anecdotes and suggest ideas for what Zest could offer in future.

In conclusion

Zest is evidently a crucial part of people’s lives, offering a highly effective, creativity-driven, holistic approach to community-based dementia support to all who attend.

“We have made many lovely friends. Zest has become such a big part of our lives that we would be lost without it.”