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Many individual and family hardships are associated with poorly understood palliative care needs arising from advanced dementia within India. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of people in India affected by advanced dementia and to shape educational approaches for practitioners and the local community.

Three focus groups with family carers of people (n = 27) with advanced dementia were undertaken with local communities in South India. One focus group was carried out in English and two in the local language (Kannada) and translated to English.

The findings of the focus groups are presented in four themes, conditions of caring, intersecting vulnerabilities, desperate acts of care and awareness of education and training needs. These themes highlight the challenges faced by family carers of people with advanced dementia and describe the potential harm, abuse and poor mental well-being facing both the person with dementia and the family carer as a result of their situation.

There is a need to explore ways to ensure inclusivity and sensitivity in the research process and enable equal participation from all participants.

The findings highlight a lack of support for family carers of people with advanced dementia and demonstrate the need for dementia-specific integrated and palliative care approaches in India.

This paper provides insight into the experiences and challenges facing family caregivers of people living with advanced dementia in India to shape practitioner education in a way that will underpin effective dementia-specific palliation and integrated services.

Communities around the world continued to be pummelled by devastating natural disasters with little to no relenting to the amount of loss of life, and property damage suffered by businesses and individuals. The United Nation reports huge financial commitments in 2010 to the tune of $109 billion in recovery in an effort of securing some semblance of normalcy. This paper aims to highlight the tremendous accomplishments created by the passing of the Post‐Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act within the US Federal Emergency Management Agency and to introduce a new concept titled Synergistic Protection that encourages citizens and businesses with special skills, equipment, or unique talents to volunteer by enrolling their contact information into a database maintained by the local emergency manager.

The methodology that was used to construct this paper was traditional scholarly research and observations of the Washington, DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. A personal account of what was said and that occurred was used.

This is a concept paper and did not use qualitative or quantitative procedures to conclude findings, but after the data were reviewed professional assessments were made to recommend a new way of involving citizens and private industry in disaster preparedness training and planning.

The practical implications of the concept of Synergistic Protection being applied globally is tremendous and has relevance the world over. It is the author's goal for every country to start using aspects of Synergistic Protection in designing disaster and crisis management planning.

The social implications of applying Synergistic Protection are huge. If and when applied people living in communities will start to form bonds out of necessity and need, and not shy away from one another because of petty differences. I believe that Synergistic Protection is needed around the world.

Synergistic Protection is completely original and both copyrighted and trademark by the author.