Dancing into Brain Health (S2 Ep5): Inclusive Design for Brain Health
Brain health is not merely the absence of disease; it is the sum of our physical, emotional, social, and cognitive well-being. Designing social and physical environments that support brain health as we age is essential to ensuring dignity, autonomy, and security across the lifespan.
In this episode of the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast, we are joined by Macarena Espina Díaz, whose work centers on building precisely these kinds of supportive environments. With a focus on inclusivity and human-centered design, she cultivates social and physical spaces that uphold dignity and enhance quality of life for people living with dementia.
Macarena brings together her expertise as an industrial designer and artist to bridge academic, community, and policy spheres. Through her work, she fosters meaningful dialogue, advances policy, and promotes environmental adaptations that expand equitable access to resources for people living with dementia in her home country of Chile.
As an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Trinity College Dublin, she collaborated with the University and local housing organizations to develop policy briefs, educational seminars, and design recommendations. These efforts contributed to envisioning Ireland’s first brain health–focused intergenerational housing community.
Together, we explore the importance of inclusive design—particularly for those living with dementia—and consider how each of us can engage more intentionally with our social and physical environments to support brain health for all.
Listen here
“Even if you pick one type of dementia like Alzheimer’s and you want to design something, you still have to adapt it for different people with Alzheimer’s. Because the disease or the syndrome will not manifest in the same way in one person versus another.
So even if you have the same type of dementia and you are in the same stage, you’re still going to have different ways of using the environment, different ways of responding to stimuli of the environment or different ways to relate to other people.”
Listen to Season 2, Episode 5 now: Unravelling Creativity on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
(Left) Macarena Espina Díaz as part of the project with Respond Housing in Rathcoran outside of Dublin to co-create solutions with tenants and stakeholders around brain health conscious housing.
(Right) Maca's grandmother Novelia, whose journey through dementia inspired her interest in dementia-inclusive design.
Learn more about Macarena Espina Díaz:
https://www.gbhi.org/profiles/macarena-espina-diaz
Read and watch more:
https://www.viviendocondemencia.cl/
Inclusive Design for People Living with Dementia in Chile
[In Spanish/ En Español] Television interview about new resource to support people living with dementia and care partners in Chile to introduce inclusive design into their daily practice
Entrevista televisiva sobre un nuevo recurso para apoyar a las personas que viven con demencia y a sus cuidadores en Chile a incorporar el diseño inclusivo en su práctica diaria.:
[In Spanish/ En Español] The “Living with Dementia” toolkit developed in collaboration with the Transdisciplinary Network on Aging at the University of Chile is available for free download via the following link
La caja de herramientas «Vivir con demencia», desarrollado en colaboración con la Red Transdisciplinaria sobre el Envejecimiento de la Universidad de Chile, está disponible para su descarga gratuita a través del siguiente enlace:https://www.uchile.cl/publicaciones/174559/caja-de-herramientas-viviendo-con-demencias
[In Spanish / En Español] Launch and Discussion: "Let's Talk About Living with Dementia"
Lanzamiento y conversatorio "Hablemos de Vivir con Demencia"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s18pImHoglg
Inclusive Environments for People Living with Dementia from Rural Areas of Chile and their Families
Fostering the Enjoyment of Eating through Inclusive Strategies for People Living with Dementia
Tool Kit: Strategies to facilitate eating and swallowing in people living with early-stage dementia (2025)
Caja de herramientas “Estrategias para favorecer la alimentación y deglución de personas con demencia en etapas tempranas”
Built environments that foster lifelong brain health
Brain Health and Housing (Global Brain Health Institute – Trinity College Dublin and Respond Housing Association – Ireland)
https://www.gbhi.org/projects/brain-health-and-housing
Bringing brain health home: the importance of housing and the urban environment for building this generation’s brain health
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23748834.2024.2327815
This episode of Dancing into Brain Health was edited and produced Magda Kaczmarska and Hilary Brown-Istrefi. The music for this show is the title cut from the album, Critical Path by Joe Venegoni and Carl Weingarten.
ABOUT DANCING INTO BRAIN HEALTH PODCAST
Join host Magda Kaczmarska, dancer, researcher, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health and executive director of arts and health nonprofit, DanceStream Projects, in uncovering the interconnections of dance, brain health and community. Each episode Magda brings together leading researchers, artists, advocates and thought leaders to illuminate the magical interconnections of dance and brain health and explore their influence on all aspects of our lives.
* New Episodes every month! *
Follow us on IG: @ dancestream_projects and YouTube: @dancestreamprojects
or email us at: magda@dancestreamprojects.com