Mind Their Health - Inclusione e salute attraverso il cibo.

"<< Background >>It has been decided to apply to this project because the members of the partner associations, and in particular the lead agency, felt the need to share the knowledge gained over the years on the figure of the caregiver, a figure that is often underestimated, but which in reality is fundamental for people who are not self-sufficient. The topics covered within the training course are particularly difficult to handle, especially if one is not a specialist in the field, and the contribution made by the associations that are part of the partnership, is hardly contained in a unified way in a guide. There are manuals on the market, which are often quite hard to understand because of the highly technical language contained within them.One of the project outcomes, which was also realized thanks to the contributions of the training course participants, was the creation of a ""practical manual."" The caregiver in this perspective is not limited to physical and nutritional support of the dependent person, but also to emotional and psychological support, as well as daily and management support related to leisure time.<< Objectives >>There were three objectives that the project set out to achieve.The first objective was to raise and implement public awareness about people with neurodegenerative diseases in order to support, incentivize and socially include these individuals, reducing the distance present between their reality and the one we are used to. Objective achieved through the numerous online (social media of partner associations) and offline (trade magazines and newspapers) publications. In addition, the involvement of some regional and local political actors proved invaluable. The second goal was to support the social inclusion of people with this type of disease. This objective was achieved through the ""practical manual,"" which can be downloaded by all interested parties from the project website and the social profiles of the partner associations.The third objective was to train 24 staff members of the associations that are part of the partnership in developing skills in the field of special nutrition of people with neurodegenerative diseases. All participants expressed high interest and enthusiasm. << Implementation >>A preliminary part to all the activities was the research and development phase carried out by the individual partner associations: the association ""Federación provincial de Asociaciones de personas con discapacidad física y orgánica de Sevilla"" carried out a series of studies inherent to the generalization of accessible tourism and the exercise of the right to leisure for people with disabilities through different lines of action(training and awareness, information and counseling, prospecting and analysis, and vacation programs); the association ""La Forza di Nemo"" has focused its research on the specific analysis of the needs of people with dystrophy or other neuromuscular diseases in order to improve the quality of life of those responsible by providing clinical care, welfare and logistics; finally, the association ""Association of Young Bulgarian Psychologists"" has conducted detailed research on the psychological analysis of people with disabilities and their family members.<< Results >>The results achieved are numerous: training of 24 people, staff of the partner associations, in the development of skills in the area of special nutrition for people with neurodegenerative diseases; creation of a 72-page ""practical manual "" containing the topics covered in the lecture; and finally, raising awareness among the public and some local and regional political figures.The 24 learners immediately showed a strong interest in the training, especially in relation to the lecture given by Gabriele Siciliano, professor of neurology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Pisa, and Dr. Giulia Ricci, neurologist at the ""Cisanello"" hospital in Pisa. With respect to the awareness-raising outcome, the speeches of various political figures were instrumental in laying the institutional foundation for consolidating awareness on the issue. Through the participation of different political figures, we had the opportunity to educate, train and inform those who represent citizens and prolong laws. The result achieved was increased awareness on the topic of neurodegenerative diseases."