Publisher's Synopsis
Dementia is one of the greatest societal challenges of the 21st century. It transcends barriers of health, social and family care at international, national, regional, local and personal levels, and it is exceptional in terms of size, cost and current and future impact. There are currently 700,000 people with dementia in the UK, costing the government £17 billion per year. Within the next 30 years, the number of sufferers is likely to double but the cost will treble to over £50 billion. As a global phenomenon, around 24 million people suffer from dementia worldwide. This is an issue for the developing world as well as the developed; even now around half of these cases are in Asia and that proportion will rise swiftly with time.
The profound negative impacts of the illness on people with dementia themselves, their families, and health and social services are not in doubt. Dementia is highly stigmatised and universally feared. But there is widespread underestimation of the positive things that can be done to help people with dementia live good quality lives. However, the large majority of people with dementia and their family carers do not benefit from such positive interventions and supports. In fact, systems often seem to have been designed to result in the avoidance of diagnosis and the consequent denial of care. It appears that those suffering from dementia who come from a minority ethnic group are even less likely to gain access to good quality care.
In this practical handbook, the authors explore the clinical, management and cultural issues faced by clinicians in caring for patients with dementia from different ethnic backgrounds. While targeted primarily at the UK, this book is relevant to mental healthcare professionals everywhere; those studying dementia, and those who manage patients from different ethnic backgrounds.
