A ‘dementia friendly’ society

Ita Buttrose, Alzheimer’s Australia president and Australian of the Year 2013, has called on every local government association and community across Australia to make their towns and cities dementia friendly to combat negative attitudes about the condition and ensure the rights of people living with dementia are protected.

Launching three new reports during the opening session of Alzheimer’s Australia’s 15th National Conference in Hobart, which starts today, Ms Buttrose said with more than three million people expected to develop dementia between now and 2050, it ranks as one of the greatest health challenges of this century.

“Each of us has to be engaged in promoting awareness of dementia and ensuring that people with dementia have equal access to the services that we all enjoy in the community,” Ms Buttrose said.

“A national population survey in 2011 found that 44% of responses believed that people with dementia are discriminated against or treated unfairly, with 22% indicating they would feel uncomfortable spending time with someone who had dementia.

“A pilot study last year showed that approximately one quarter of those surveyed would avoid seeking assistance for memory problems. As well, 60% indicated that if they received a diagnosis of dementia they would feel a sense of shame, and nearly half said that they would be humiliated by the diagnosis.

“It is unacceptable for people to live in shame because they have a medical diagnosis of dementia. It is also unacceptable for people to turn their backs on those with dementia because they feel uncomfortable.”

The three reports being released by Alzheimer’s Australia today, Dementia-Friendly Societies, Cognitive Impairment Symbol: Creating Dementia Friendly Organisations, and Respite Care for People Living with Dementia, provide three strategies that Alzheimer’s Australia wants action on within the next 12 months.

“Australia needs to follow the lead of other countries in developing dementia friendly societies,” Ms Buttrose said.

“We must reflect on how people with dementia live their lives and how we can develop a more inclusive society.

“Walking groups, choirs, school programs, visits to art galleries, work place engagement programs, the use of technology and improved street scapes are all building blocks in achieving a friendly dementia society.

“We also need dementia friendly organisations so that people with dementia have access to services we all enjoy. There are many service environments where it is important for organisations to make a commitment to a good service for people with cognitive impairment.

“Our vision is that organisations that are dementia friendly train their staff and display a symbol so that people with dementia can be confident of accessing the services they need.”

Ms Buttrose has also called on the federal goverment to improve access to respite care for carers of people with dementia.

“People living with dementia have difficulty accessing respite services that meet their needs,” Ms Buttrose said.

“We have proposed that the government should pilot the cashing out of the value of respite to the family carer so the carer can decide how the money is spent.”

Dementia friendly societies, dementia friendly organisations, and improving access to good respite care are just a few of the issues that are being discussed at Alzheimer’s Australia’s 15th biennial conference.

Other key highlights of today include:

• Professor Carol Brayne, the Professor of Public Health Medicine at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Cambridge University, UK, talking about how population based studies can contribute to our understanding about ageing of the brain;
• Dr Michael Valenzuela, Associate Professor, Brain & Mind Research Institute & Faculty of Medicine, Sydney University, discussing better prevention and treatment of dementia;
• Michelle Bourgeois, Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Ohio State University, USA, on using visual cues to communicate with persons with dementia; and
• Professor Nicola Lautenschlager, Chair of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, on the benefits of physical activity for the ageing brain.

DPS News will be in Hobart this week to report on the Alzheimer’s Australia’s 15th National Conference. Stay tuned for DPS News Facebook updates and news reports.