ConFeafa training program for seniors with Alzheimer’s in rural Andalusia

The Andalusian Confederation of Alzheimer’s and other Dementias (ConFEAFA) has launched the project FormAcción Alzheimer + Rural Andalusiaan initiative aimed at improving the care and care of older people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias in rural Andalusia. The program will be developed between 2026 and 2027 in the eight provinces of the community, with the purpose of strengthen the care ecosystem in territories affected by aging, geographical dispersion and the lack of specialized services.

This action is part of the FSE+ Program for Social Inclusion, Child Guarantee and Fight against Povertyand is co-financed by the European Union and Mapfre Foundation through the +RURAL 2025 Aid call. The project contributes to improving the social inclusionreinforce socio-health services and offer support to vulnerable groups in rural areas.

Training adapted to the rural environment

The project proposes a comprehensive and adapted training model to the particularities of the rural environment. It is aimed at both non-professional caregivers, mainly family members, and professionals in the health and social field: primary care staff, Home Help Service workers, social services professionals, community pharmacies and other community agents.

The training will combine face-to-face sessions, videoconferences and online contentwith a flexible methodology designed to facilitate participation from dispersed municipalities or with connection difficulties. To reduce the digital dividetechnological solutions will be incorporated that allow access to content from community spaces or from one’s own homes.

The aging of the population and territorial dispersion have placed the rural areas of Andalusia facing a growing socio-health challenge: the increase in the number of people with dementia and the need to offer them local, adapted and continuous care. Faced with this reality, ConFEAFA seeks strengthen home and community careimprove the skills of those who care for people with Alzheimer’s and strengthen coordination between the different health and social resources of the territory.

The initiative also aims relieve the burden on family caregiversprevent situations of unwanted loneliness and consolidate local mutual support networks.

Commitment and social cohesion

The program will be implemented in rural municipalities of the eight Andalusian provinces, taking the basic health areas as a reference to adapt the contents to the specific needs of each territory. ConFEAFA will also promote the local associative fabricsupporting the development of associations of relatives of people with Alzheimer’s and favoring the creation of new entities in those municipalities where this type of resources do not yet exist.

With this initiative, the confederation reaffirms its commitment to social cohesion and with a more coordinated, accessible and sustainable care model, focused on people and their communities. Since its creation on December 31, 1995, ConFEAFA has established itself as the largest network of associations of relatives of people with Alzheimer’s in Spainwith 124 federated entities and more than 20,000 associated people.

With FormAcción Alzheimer + Rural AndalusiaConFEAFA reinforces three decades of work together with families, professionals and administrations, betting on a care model rooted in the territory and based on community collaboration that contributes to improve the quality of life in rural Andalusia.