You are on Our Minds

<< Background >>One of the fields of duty of search and rescue personnel working in disasters and emergencies is the search for missing persons. Many different types of missing persons cases occur due to different reasons such as disasters, adverse weather conditions, health problems and each case requires alternative search methods. In the search for missing persons, they should be prepared for different scenarios and should be able to develop strategies specific to each missing person case. People with Alzheimer's/dementia, who are among the vulnerable groups and have special needs, are adversely affected by their physical and mental abilities and forgetfulness occurs as their disease progresses. This leads to cases of getting lost. A better knowledge of Alzheimer's/dementia and the characteristics of people with this disease by search and rescue and first responders will help to develop special search and rescue strategies. The project was applied to complete this missing aspect in the vocational training curriculum of search and rescue and first responders.<< Objectives >>The objectives we wanted to achieve by implementing the project were;- Improving the knowledge and skills of search and rescue and emergency personnel in missing persons cases of people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia,- Ensuring that the skills acquired are measurable and evaluable,- Developping an emergency procedure for their families, caregivers and support network to follow when faced with this situation,- To prepare a policy recommendation document for the authorities, including measures to ensure safe living for people with Alzheimer's and dementia and disaster management practices that include these individuals.<< Implementation >>The activities carried out in the implementation of the project were as follows:- Two separate surveys targeting both families and caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's/dementia and disaster response teams were organized. With this survey, needs other than those targeted by the project were identified.- Transnational Project meeting was held. In this meeting, the titles of the training materials to be created were determined.- LTT activities were organized in project partner countries. In these activities, knowledge and experience were shared, good practice examples were learned and study visits were made. And training contents were created.- The scenarios of the created training materials were converted into training videos. In addition, training books were created in downloadable and printable format. All content was uploaded to the Distance Education Portal.- Project promotion and dissemination activities were carried out in various congresses and workshops.- Multiplier Events were organized in Türkiye, Germany, Spain, Ireland and Hungary to promote the project results to target audiences.- E-books created within the scope of the project and targeting response personnel were sent to AFAD Provincial Directorates.<< Results >>- A Distance Education Platform has been created. This platform includes digital training materials on search and rescue methods for missing people with Alzheimer's/dementia. - A digital dictionary containing terms related to Alzheimer's/dementia and disasters/search and rescue was created.- An e-portfolio was created for the beneficiaries to measure and evaluate their training skills on the project topic. Here beneficiaries can create a profile, be assessed and evaluated through online quizzes and receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the training.- An Emergency Script template was created to enable families, caregivers and support network members of these individuals to provide quick and secure information to response personnel when faced with this situation.- A policy recommendation document was prepared to provide solutions for policy makers and decision makers on the measures to be taken and the practices to be implemented.The Distance Education Platform can be accessed at https://www.inourminds.org/. In addition, Glossary, E-portfolio, Emergency Script and Policy Recommendation Document are available on the platform.