Alzheimer’s Epidemic Fatiguing Caregivers Worldwide
Governments around the world need to make dementia caregiving a priority by implementing national plans and by initiating urgent national debates on how to deal with the growing number of older adults who will need care in the coming years, a new international report advises.
The World Alzheimer’s Report 2013, “Journey of Caring: An Analysis of Long-Term Care for Dementia,” was commissioned by Alzheimer’s Disease International and Bupa, a British healthcare organization, and prepared by a research team led by Martin Prince, MD, professor of epidemiology psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, United Kingdom.
The report makes clear that because of Alzheimer’s disease, as the world population ages, the traditional system of “informal” care by family, friends, and community will require much greater support. Between 2010 and 2050, the number of dependent elderly with care needs will nearly triple from 101 to 277 million, the report says.
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% of older people in nursing homes are living with dementia, the report notes.
The costs are staggering, the authors write. Currently, the worldwide cost of dementia care is over US $600 billion (£395 billion), or around 1% of global gross domestic product (GDP), the report estimates.
Authors of the new report recommend 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, and the voices of people with dementia and their caregivers should be prioritized;
- 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 that paid and unpaid carers receive appropriate financial reward in order to sustain the informal care system and improve recruitment and retention of paid carers;
- Care in care homes is a preferred option for a significant minority — quality of life at home can be as good, and costs are similar if the unpaid work of family caregivers is properly valued; and
- 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, because care homes will remain an important component of long-term care.
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.
“Because of the progressive nature of the disease and the length of its duration, Alzheimer’s care needs only escalate, often to the point of impacting the caregiver’s own health,” Angela Geiger, chief strategy officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, said in a statement.
The cost of dementia care is taking a significant toll on the world economy. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that total payments for caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States in 2013 sit at $203 billion, including $142 billion for Medicare and Medicaid combined. And that number is projected to be $1.2 trillion by 2050 (in current dollars).
“The World Alzheimer’s Report states the global annual societal costs of dementia were $604 billion in 2010. If dementia care were a country, it would be the world’s 21st largest economy, ranking between Poland and Saudi Arabia,” a statement from the Alzheimer’s Association notes.
Last week, the National Institutes of Health announced approximately $45 million in new funding to support research initiatives that will test drugs that might prevent Alzheimer’s disease and identify and validate novel biological targets.
via Blogger http://chiropractic-lane.blogspot.com/2013/09/alzheimers-epidemic-fatiguing.html
Recent Comments