How can 'positive risk-taking' help build dementia-friendly communities?

How can we use its principles to inform understanding of dementia and change attitudes? How can we achieve the benefits and meet the challenges of applying it in practice? NOVEMBER 2014 Background The main audiences for this Viewpoint are: the broad range of people and services in communities that people living with dementia come into daily contact with, and some of those living with dementia, the. [...] • It is all too easy to see the negatives and deficits around someone living with dementia and to remain oblivious to their capabilities and potential and those of the resources they may have around them. [...] The challenge is for the wider community – services and businesses – to support people to live with dementia in the ways that they choose. [...] What are the risks that June might harm herself with hot or sharp implements? Does she understand these? Are these greater than the risks to her of inactivity and loss of skills and independence? The dangers in the safe option A safe life may be a cosseted life, but does it offer good quality of life? It is very easy to generalise about dementia, particularly if we focus on worst-case examples. [...] The same applies to our confidence in supporting a person living with dementia to take a risk; part 09 of weighing the pros and cons of different options is understanding the presence or absence of strengths in each available choice.