Abstracts

Care farming for patients suffering from dementia is considered an innovative way of exploiting farm resources to provide social services. Services seem to function well for all stakeholders, from local authorities being responsible for welfare services provision to patients and their relatives.

The number of green care services providers in Norway is nevertheless quite limited and stagnant while municipalities in general search intensively for effective ways to manage the growing number of elderly and thus increasing prevalence of dementia in the population. There is reason to ask whether innovation system deficiencies may hinder more rapid growth of green dementia care.

The paper “Care farming – who is the entrepeneur?”will review theories of innovation, with particular emphasis on demand and supply side constraints and interaction. In-depth interviews with municipalities performed by fellow researchers on the Green Dementia Care – project, will be used to assess the relevance of alternative explanatory factors. Results are used to formulate tentative avenues towards effective utilization for farm resources in meeting the needs of a growing need for effective dementia care in Norway.