Pioneer in dementia care and caregiver research: For his outstanding achievements in dementia research and voluntary work, Prof. Dr. med. Elmar Gräßel was honored today with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The award was presented to Prof. Dr. med. Elmar Gräßel by the Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder at a ceremony in the New Museum in Nuremberg.
Prof. Dr. med. Elmar Gräßel is the head of the Center for Medical Care Research and the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University Hospital for Psychiatry in Erlangen. Furthermore, since 2019, together with Prof. Dr. med. Peter Kolominsky-Rabas, he is part of the medical project management of the Digital Dementia Register of Bavaria (digiDEM Bayern).
The award presented today recognizes Prof. Gräßel's decades of outstanding commitment to people with dementia and their caregivers. As a dementia and caregiver researcher, Prof. Gräßel has been active for 35 years. He is a founding member of the German Alzheimer Society and has served as the voluntary chairman of the Alzheimer Society Mittelfranken for 25 years.
„Help where needed and desired!“
Prof. Gräßel's goal is to tangibly improve the situation and living conditions of people with dementia and their caregivers. It doesn't matter whether the affected individuals with cognitive impairments live at home, in a shared living arrangement, or in a nursing home, or attend day care. Prof. Gräßel's motto in life is: „Help where needed and desired!“
In a letter from Bavarian Prime Minister Dr. Markus Söder, he states about Prof. Gräßel: „You have contributed to our state far beyond the usual measure.“ And further: „Your seminal studies and publications on non-pharmacological therapies, as well as your diverse volunteer work, enable those affected to achieve inclusion and participation in everyday life and in society.“
Research for Practice
Prof. Gräßel's professional work is dedicated to two central concerns. On the one hand, he researches possibilities for dementia prevention and non-pharmacological therapies for dementia diseases. „Because the goal is to strengthen the actual resources of people with dementia and simultaneously increase their quality of life,“ emphasizes Prof. Gräßel.
On the other hand, as a care researcher, he is passionate about supporting and relieving informal caregivers. „Informal caregivers are selflessly and intensely involved in their role as helpers, so they urgently need support and strengthening from outside. It is a societal obligation to give something back to them,“ explains Prof. Gräßel.
He summarizes: „Therefore, research must be conducted into how people with dementia and their caring relatives and friends can best be helped.“
Thanks to companions and supporters
„The Federal Cross of Merit is a great recognition for me of my personal commitment and the collective work of many colleagues. However, the goals cannot be achieved without the commitment of many people,“ says Prof. Gräßel. „I thank everyone who has accompanied me empathetically and actively supported me on this path.“
Innovative non-pharmacological therapy
A milestone in his work is the development of the multi-award-winning MAKS® therapy, a non-pharmacological activation therapy for people with dementia. MAKS® combines mmotor, apractical, kcognitive and ssocial activities and demonstrably contributes to visibly slowing down cognitive decline and optimizing the quality of life for those affected. The effectiveness of the MAKS® therapy has been proven in large-scale studies and can be applied quickly and easily in practice.
„Dementias are not curable to date. Psychosocial, non-drug therapy forms such as MAKS® are therefore the decisive way to stabilize the abilities of people with dementia and improve their well-being,“ says Prof. Gräßel. The MAKS® therapy is now successfully used in German-speaking countries, Mexico, China, and Norway. More than 3,000 care and support staff have already been trained in the MAKS® therapy in Germany alone. „This is an important milestone for better care of people with dementia,“ emphasizes Prof. Dr. Johannes Kornhuber, Director of Psychiatry at Erlangen University Hospital.
Numerous awards
Prof. Gräßel's scientific projects have received numerous awards, including research funding awards from the German Alzheimer's Society (Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft e.V.), the Erlangen Prize for Medicine, Technology and Health, the Dr. Theo and Friedl Schöller Prize for Geriatric Medicine, and most recently the MSD Health Prize.
Concept for the future
„We, the digiDEM Bavaria team, warmly congratulate Prof. Gräßel on this award. His pioneering research and passionate commitment represent a great life's work. Given demographic developments and the increasing number of people with dementia in Germany, further efforts are necessary so that the MAKS® therapy concept developed by Prof. Gräßel can continue to make a decisive contribution to strengthening care for people with dementia and their caregivers in the future,“ says Prof. Dr. Peter Kolominsky-Rabas, who co-leads the care research project digiDEM Bavaria with Prof. Gräßel.
More information about MAKS® therapy can be found here.
Here you can find the recording of the digiDEM Bavaria webinar on MAKS® therapy.
