Dementia – A real challenge for today and tomorrow - Time to build dementia friendly, dementia capable and dementia supportive community
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Carey Mulligan said “Those with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they are all unique. They just need to be interacted with on a human level.” As per the credible WHO report, 57 million people are living with dementia. This number is estimated to rise to 78 million by the year 2030 and to 139 million by the year 2050.[1] Dementia not only impacts the person suffering from the condition but also has significant impact on the caregivers of people with dementia. As, at present, there is no cure for dementia; hence, we need to focus on its prevention and appropriate management. Considering the disability associated with dementia, the need of the hour is to increase the awareness about the condition, manage the risk factors effectively to prevent or delay the onset of dementia, to provide adequate and dignified care to people with dementia, and to support the caregivers of persons with disabilities (PwD). To achieve this we need to establish dementia friendly, dementia capable, and dementia-supportive communities. ESTABLISHING DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY Dementia-friendly community is a place or a culture in which people with dementia and their caregivers are empowered, supported, and included in society.[2] The key tool of establishing a dementia-friendly community is to change the attitude toward it by accepting it essentially as a disease. Change in attitude demands acceptance by family, caregivers, friends, and community of the reality that cognitive decline and associated behavioral changes are not just an outcome of aging, but it is far beyond that.[2] The PwD is to be embraced with grace, love, and care. Strong conviction needs to be created at individual level about the reality of traversing the route leading to the similar destination. Victims need to be treated in a dignified manner, fortifying their belief of being strong, instilling in them the positive emotions by accepting them. We need to have a bottom-top approach by including dementia and its consequences in the course curriculum, so that the children get sensitized at a very tender age for handling the adversity of dementia with courage back home and lend care to their grandparents. Undoubtedly, these children are the real builders of the nation. It shall enable them to learn and take care of senile people with joy. Society has to play its part by imbibing the awareness about the disease by accepting, revering, and motivating the patients, their families and caregivers. Further, there is a need to develop public awareness programs to improve the awareness about dementia and provide training to people in all the sectors, including the healthcare sector as to how to deal with people with dementia and address their needs. There is an urgent need to make necessary changes in the physical environment at all levels including home, public places including hospitals to be dementia friendly by having accessible pathways, providing healthcare under one roof, specific shopping hours for people with dementia, having calm, safe environments, and considering sensory needs. Dementia-friendly community also demands a robust anticipation of eliminating the culture of social isolation. People, especially old-aged parents are left isolated which serves as a potential risk factor for dementia.[2] The culture of old age homes needs to be implemented with caution in our society as we may not get benefitted by the copy paste models of west. Prioritizing their needs and engaging with them cheerfully will lead to fresh atmosphere fortifying the positivity among them. Concept of joint family structure needs to be practiced and revived for the betterment of the greater cause. It shall enable each family member to have a joyful, altruistic, and respectful feeling. This would aid in the distribution of burden of care and promote the productive mindset among the families and the community. It is highly detrimental to isolate people with dementia from the social gatherings of the community. Rather, efforts should be made to welcome them in the social gathering with honor, dignity, and respect. CREATING DEMENTIA CAPABLE SOCIETY Dementia-capable communities are understood from the perspective of adapting services and systems to better meet the needs of people with dementia by making these services and systems more accessible and appropriate for people with dementia and giving options to people with dementia and their caregivers to choose the various options as per their needs.[3] At various fronts, community can be rendered dementia capable beginning from local level markets, transportation facilities, public places, healthcare setups, and legal services. In the markets to procure the commodities of livelihood specific day in a week must be dedicated for such people so that mass awareness starts to develop regarding the dementia as a disease. It will enable, encourage, and reinforce a sense of positive mindset and belonging in the community. In the public places, the roads must have the separate lanes for the dementia people, so that they traverse safely and general masses get awareness about the condition. The local businesses should be encouraged to adapt dementia-friendly services and provide training to their employees. In the public transport system, seats needed for such people must be dedicated. The banks should have special protocol for PwD, empower them to have the right to nominate a person of their choice so that hassle free transactions happen.[3] Health care professionals bear the onus of educating the PwD and their caregivers as the disease cannot be merely addressed only by having the symposiums, seminars, and conferences. Pragmatic approach needs to be adopted both at private and government sectors. In the government setup, specialized care needs to be provided to such people by guiding them efficiently. Sparing particular days for PwD and providing multidisciplinary care under one roof would pave way for extensive evaluation and professional care. Making provision for providing free consultation to PwD can prove beneficial in lessening the burden on the care givers. Liaison is another essential component with other healthcare professionals including proper referral would prove significant in disseminating awareness about the disease and minimizing the barrier for seeking treatment. BUILDING DEMENTIA SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY Developing dementia-supportive communities involves providing resources and assistance to individuals with dementia and their caregivers.[4] The support system relies upon the policy makers who need to carve out the practical ways of addressing the problem. One of the fundamentals to be focused on by the policymakers is to provide funding so that the awareness programs are held at the broader level across the country to help the helpless people and sensitizing the various communities about the disease and its consequences. A specific week needs to be reserved from the calendar year for observing dementia awareness week at national level that would prove as a significant anticipation to the cause. Law enforcing agencies must ensure frequent vigilance on adulteration of foods across the various community strata as substandard foods predispose to dementia invariably. Establishing the recreational parks for old age people would provide a supportive environment for the dementia effected people. Schemes providing monthly incentives to them on regular basis shall enable them to feel worthy and self-sufficient to some extent and lessening the burden on care givers. Their medical expense needs to be met under various government schemes and the rights of PwD need to respected and safeguarded in every possible manner. Today, we have millions of people already battling dementia, the time is not far away when you and I would be among the same ranks rendered helpless awaiting support from all fronts to have a life full of dignity and honor. Hence, let’s join hands together today only to build a fortified foundation of the system equipped to combat the battle gracefully and courageously.
Authors: Abdul Majid, Farhana Rafiq, Tufail Shafi, Sandeep Grover
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411710416