Dementia care: understanding the complexities, challenges and inequalities

As a part of its ‘Decade of Healthy Ageing’, the United Nations, along with the World Health Organization, has highlighted addressing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as one of the biggest challenges of public health planning for both developed and developing nations.

The Challenge

Early diagnosis is the key to managing the challenges of dementia and allowing for the development of adequate care and treatment plans. Increased support required from informal or formal caregivers can make life challenging for both a person diagnosed with dementia and those involved in providing the care, due to a lack of acceptance of diagnosis, changes in behaviour and changes in personal care needs. Unfortunately, not everybody receives the same level of support for a variety of reasons.

Research has shown there are significant gaps in rural dementia care since those living in rural communities are less likely to have access to GP services and post-diagnostic resources such as support groups.²

Furthermore, individuals from ethnic minority groups have been shown to experience delays in receiving a diagnosis due to a combination of infrequent contact with GPs and higher levels of stigma attached to dementia within these communities. An overall lack of awareness of support available, often coupled with language barriers, means reduced levels of engagement with health and care services.²

There is also increasing amounts of evidence to show that individuals from low-income and deprived communities are much less likely to receive adequate post-diagnostic care, particularly reduced access to anti-dementia medication.³

The ACT^TM Assessment Tool

The ACT^TM Assessment Tool, is the world’s leading digitised care planning tool which identifies the concerns and priorities of older people and connects them to local sources of support to meet their needs.

Aligned with WHO ICOPE guidance, each assessment generates a report with several summary scores to measure needs, risks, and outcomes, including a score for cognition. By identifying the key areas of concerns and priorities for action, this foundational assessment can help and provide a basis for a referral to specialist secondary care services and ultimately address health inequalities within communities.

For more information on the ACT^TM Assessment download our brochure below or contact a member of our team.