New Report Reveals Future Toll of Dementia

As advances in medical care continue to result in people living longer, more and more families are faced with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related conditions.

Please take a few minutes and read this briefing about a recent key report, courtesy of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.  The report highlights the serious rise in dementia-related conditions that we and our parents’ generations will be facing in the near future.  It presents a sobering challenge, but for many people, there is still time to take action.  

With proper advance planning, many of the devastating effects of those conditions can be eliminated.  With the assistance of an elder law attorney, you or your loved ones can create a plan so that financial and other important matters are addressed.

The World Alzheimer Report 2013, “Journey of Caring: An analysis of long-term care for dementia,” calls for governments around the world to make dementia a priority by implementing national plans, and by initiating urgent national debates on future arrangements for long-term care. Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) and Bupa commissioned a team of researchers, led by Professor Martin Prince from King’s College London, to produce the report. The report reveals that, as the world population ages, the traditional system of “informal” care by family, friends, and community will require much greater support. Globally, 13 percent of people aged 60 or over require long-term care. Between 2010 and 2050, the total number of older people with care needs will nearly treble from 101 to 277 million. Long-term care is mainly about care for people with dementia; around half of all older people who need personal care have dementia, and 80 percent of older people in nursing homes are living with dementia. The worldwide cost of dementia care is currently over US $600 billion (£395 billion), or around 1 percent of global GDP. The report states that more attention needs to be paid to maintaining and enhancing quality of life; helping those affected, and their families to “live well with dementia.”

The Report recommends that:

• Systems should to be in place to monitor the quality of dementia care in all settings – whether in care homes or in the community.
• Autonomy and choice should be promoted at all stages of the dementia journey, prioritizing the voices of people with dementia and their caregivers.
• Health and social care systems should be better integrated and coordinated to meet people’s needs.
• Front-line caregivers must be adequately trained and systems will need to be in place to ensure paid and unpaid caregivers receive appropriate financial reward in order to sustain the informal care system and improve recruitment and retention of paid caregivers.
• Care in care homes is a preferred option for a significant minority – quality of life at home can be as good, and costs are comparable if the unpaid work of family caregivers is properly valued.
• The quality of care in care homes should be monitored through the quality of life and satisfaction of their residents, in addition to routine inspections, as care homes will remain an important component of long-term care.

 Professor Martin Prince, from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry and author of the report, said: “People with dementia have special needs. Compared with other long-term care users they need more personal care, more hours of care, and more supervision, all of which is associated with greater strain on caregivers, and higher costs. Their needs for care start early in the disease course, and evolve constantly over time, requiring advanced planning, monitoring, and coordination. We need to value the unpaid contribution of family caregivers more, and reward paid caregivers better. We can build quality into our care systems, but to do so while containing costs and achieving equity of access for all will be a challenge.”

Source/more: EurekAlert,  www.naela.org