Dementia cases forecast to rise without national action

The number of people living with dementia in Barbados is set to more than double in another 17 years unless urgent action is taken, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) which called for a National Dementia Plan to help reduce the incidence of the neurodegenerative condition.

It is part of a wider call to governments throughout the region, amid concerns that progress in dealing with dementia has been far too slow.

In a statement on Monday, ADI said there are about 4 087 people in Barbados with dementia and that is expected to rise to 10 420 by 2050. However, it acknowledged that it was difficult to determine the true number of people living with the condition here since it is not measured by the government – an issue that the organisation said would be ameliorated by having a National Dementia Plan in place.

ADI’s chief executive officer Paola Barbarino said developing, funding, and implementing these plans is essential to improving health outcomes for people living with dementia.

“A National Dementia Plan is a vital step in helping those living with dementia to have access to the support and services they need to live well, for longer. Access to support and a care plan, including care at home and in community settings, at-home adaptations, and respite for carers, alongside medical treatments, are vital for people living with dementia, as well as their carers and family,” she said.

“By denying Barbados and those across the region this support, governments are doing a disservice to their communities. All people living with dementia in the Caribbean deserve access to the kinds of support and services a National Dementia Plan makes available. It’s their human right.”

The ADI chief stressed that a National Dementia Plan is a government’s best tool for preparing for this looming global health crisis, as she warned that continued inaction will lead to much greater health, care and societal challenges in managing dementia later. 

“Governments must have robust dementia strategies funded and in place, to save healthcare systems from being overwhelmed as dementia cases rise in the future,” she said.

Jackie Walcott, a caregiver to a person living with dementia in Barbados, lamented that living with dementia in Barbados is frustrating for families and caregivers as there is limited support and services available, especially after diagnosis. 

“Life does not stop for us at diagnosis. We need multi-disciplinary teams which include gerontologists, ophthalmologists, dentists, dieticians, counsellors, etc to ensure our people have a good quality of life with dementia,” she said.

ADI, the global federation for 105 Alzheimer’s and dementia associations across the world, estimates that the Caribbean will see dementia cases rise by 155 per cent, to more than 740 000, by 2050.

It said only a few countries in the region, like the Dominican Republic and Cuba, have implemented National Dementia Plans and most of them do not have adequate funding.

“Without adequate funding to implement them, these plans are lying unused on the desks of bureaucracy across the region – more empty promises and blunt tools,” said Barbarino. 

ADI has therefore teamed up with Alzheimer’s associations in Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, St Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago to launch a regional campaign ‘What’s Your Plan’ (#WhatsYourPlan) to call for urgent action.

It wants residents of countries participating in the campaign to urge their governments to develop a National Dementia Plan that features improvements in care for those living with dementia, support for carers, and key policies to help delay or reduce up to 40 per cent of the possible number of cases of dementia in the future.

“We’re talking with the various Ministries of Health, Age & Social Support in many Caribbean countries, and while in some cases it can lead to progress it is often too slow. For a condition like dementia, time is of the absolute essence. People cannot wait,” said Barbarino. 

“We need people from all over the Caribbean to speak up for people with dementia so that their governments might actually listen and act.”

Research has found that the greatest risk factors for dementia in the Caribbean include cardiovascular health, diabetes, family history, older age, and education. Further, ADI said, women with lower levels of education in rural areas are overrepresented in dementia statistics in the Caribbean.

Dementia is the third leading cause of death in the Americas. (PR/BT)