Dementia care in rural communities has its challenges, but a leading researcher says there are ways communities can help those affected.
Anthea Innes of Bournemouth University in Poole, England, said dementia can’t be prevented but it can be slowed.
“Things that are good for your heart are also good for your brain,” she told delegates at the Safety and Health in Agricultural and Rural Populations conference in Saskatoon last month.
She cited reduced levels of smoking and alcohol consumption as ways to be proactive.
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Innes said there are 44 million people worldwide who have dementia. In 2013, Canada had 747,000 people with dementia.
The number of cases is expected to reach 1.4 million by 2031, with costs of $33 billion per year to care for dementia patients in Canada.
Innes’s research in rural communities in the United Kingdom has shown that service providers, caregivers and dementia patients feel much is lacking when it comes to treating and living with dementia.
For service providers, specialized staff and transportation are lacking for patients.
Caregivers and people with de-mentia also see gaps in day care, respite services, home care and caregiver support.
The situation is similar in Canada.
Ruth Miller, director of Continuing Care in Saskatchewan’s Heartland health region, cited an eight-hour education session on dementia for staff.
“It gets us to the reasons behind their behaviour and how we can help them deal with the behaviour more effectively,” she said.
In the region, about 30 to 40 percent of those moving into long-term care suffer from dementia, she said.
Innes brought up possible solutions to minimize dementia care issues, citing the Dementia Friendly Communities program as one example.
Sign postings could help direct people from certain areas of the community like the bus or train station. Community businesses hire people with dementia and organize activities that people with dementia can participate in.
“It would be a nicer place for us all to live,” said Innes.
There would be better support networks, better cognitive memories, and people with dementia would have a better relationship with their community. Innes said people with dementia can do far more than ex-pected with the correct resources.
Both Innes and Miller said this program, along with others Innes has tested in the United Kingdom, would be possible to have in Canadian rural communities.
“Rurally, within small communities, people know who has challenges and they help them. These kind of programs just make it more formal,” said Miller.
“You just need someone with the idea and willing to make it happen,” said Innes.
