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Background and objectives: Advocates for dementia-friendly communities emphasize the need for the public to know about the dementias and to experience social comfort with people having dementia. This research tested a conceptual model of influences on social comfort, including two types of dementia knowledge and personal dementia fear. Research design and methods: Data were collected from 645 Wisconsin residents through an online platform (Qualtrics®) and community outreach efforts. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted and its results were mapped onto a figure representing the conceptual model of social comfort. Results: Greater personhood-based knowledge (based on observations of the capabilities and perspectives of persons with dementia) and less personal dementia fear significantly predicted higher levels of social comfort, while biomedical knowledge did not. Although more personhood-based knowledge improved overall comfort regardless of the level of biomedical knowledge, people with higher levels of biomedical knowledge benefitted the most from having personhood-based knowledge. Discussion and implications: These findings suggest that activities that promote personhood-based knowledge may enhance social comfort. These activities may be most effective for individuals who already have a high level of biomedical knowledge about people with dementia. Community members and professionals ought to strike a balance between biomedical knowledge and personhood-based knowledge, as the two together may be associated with higher levels of social comfort. This could benefit the promotion of dementia-friendly community initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with dementia and their care partners often experience increasing social isolation in their communities. Alzheimer's and memory cafés offer a place to socialize with others who accept and understand these elders despite memory loss and other cognitive difficulties. This article describes the establishment of five memory cafés in the Fox Valley region of northeast Wisconsin. The memory cafés are a part of our comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to creating a dementia-friendly community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Winnebago County in 1918 was approximately 62,000 residents. It consisted of towns supporting diverse manufacturers surrounded by farming country. For this study, records were revisited, and 1918 to 1920 influenza survivors were interviewed. A pharmacological investigation encompassing the various influenza treatments used in Wisconsin from 1918 to 1920 was documented. In 1918, over 180 individuals perished from influenza, and over 2000 cases were reported in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Influenza returned in 1920, which some researchers refer to as the "fourth wave," claiming nearly 50 lives in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. This study also documents the 1920 influenza wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article illustrates how the 1918 influenza and U.S. polio epidemics of 1940s and 1950s can be investigated by undergraduates in multi disciplines. It stresses that undergraduate researchers utilized retrospective epidemiology studies and memories of older adults in gathering data in the investigation of 1918 influenza and U.S. polio epidemics of 1940s and 1950s. It emphasizes the shifting of undergraduate education from individual subject areas to academic boundary crossing which is the interdisciplinary learning. The overview of "Flu Project" that was joined by three different classes of University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh (UW-Oshkosh) including virology, psychology, and anthropology is presented.

Twelve older adults were interviewed in two continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), one in Florida and the other in Wisconsin. Only the residents in Wisconsin maintained contact with local congregations, probably because most had always lived in communities not far from the CCRC. On-site religious activities such as worship and study groups were important because of the ways they ordered the week and the opportunities they offered for social interaction. In both locations, Protestant residents appreciated the opportunity to worship in ecumenical services conducted by clergy of different Protestant faith traditions. Catholic services were also available in both locations. Suggestions are offered about ways that faith communities can nourish the spiritual lives of persons living in CCRCs by working with chaplains and by conducting small prayer and study groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]