Hope For Dementia Publishes Framework Advocating Dementia Prevention To Be A National Health Care Priority

Action is needed now to prevent a tsunami of dementia

MONTREAL, Sept. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Hope for Dementia has published a framework to bend the significant growth in dementia cases that has been forecasted by various organizations.  As part of the framework, the non-profit charitable organization is advocating for the prevention of dementia to become a national health care priority, requiring urgent, concerted public and private sector action. 

"Pre-pandemic estimates indicated that the number of persons living with dementia will nearly double within a decade," said Parsa Famili, President, Hope for Dementia. "The World Health Organization also sounded the alarm recently about the fact that the pandemic is aggravating this issue. This trend is simply economically unsustainable and requires immediate attention. Increasing investments in research and services to prevent and reduce risks provides reasonable hope for dementia growth trends to be reversed. That is why the framework we are proposing should be adopted and put in place by 2025 to help bend the curve."

Hope for Dementia's recommended approach augments the government of Quebec and Canada's current dementia strategy through the delivery of services and investments in research that focus on prevention, symptom deceleration and symptom reversal. This includes routine cognitive assessments, coordination of services to effectively monitor persons at risk, proactive treatment in the early stages of dementia and the creation of a dedicated public/private sector fund for promising research and clinical trials on symptom deceleration and reversal therapies.  The Hope for Dementia charitable organization also plans to petition the federal government and provincial health authorities to issue biennial mandatory dementia screening reminders to persons over 50. 

"There are lots of efforts and investments made to fight dementia and they need to be maintained. But they are not enough to prevent the significant impact the tsunami of dementia will have on our health care system, on patients and on caregivers," added Camille Isaacs-Morell, Vice President at Hope for Dementia. "By focusing on disease prevention and health protection strategies, Canada can aim to reduce the growth in the number of persons diagnosed with dementia and therefore better align health care resources with predicted care requirements in the future."

Hope for Dementia has onboarded a cadre of concerned citizens and business leaders to support the promotion of dementia prevention as a national health care priority and the implementation of recommended services. The team will also act as advisors bringing a wide range of expertise such as research, health care delivery and public policy to name a few.   

''As the data indicates, we are heading towards a crisis in dementia care and prevention is an important way to avert it.  Vulnerable seniors in Montreal and its suburbs have benefited from Hope for Dementia's various services that aim to preserve and improve cognition and brain health.  I encourage everyone to support Hope for Dementia's commitment to promote dementia as a national health care priority,'' said Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Member of Parliament, St-Laurent.

Dementia in Numbers

• Pre-pandemic estimates indicated that the number of persons living with dementia in Canada will nearly double within the next decade, rising from 513,953 in 2014 to an estimated 986,954 by 2033.ⁱ 
• The cost of dementia care in Canada was estimated at $12 billion in 2020 and is projected to be $16.6 billion by 2031. Total out-of-pocket costs paid by caregivers of people with dementia were an estimated $1.4 billion in 2016 and are projected to rise to $2.4 billion in 2031.ⁱⁱ
• Caregivers of persons with dementia face higher levels of distress such as anger, depression or feeling unable to continue (45% versus 26%).ⁱⁱⁱ 

About Hope for Dementia

Hope for Dementia is a federal non-profit charitable organization (Registration # 815949763 RR001) whose mission is to support the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of dementia and other cognitive disorders.  Hope for Dementia aspires to be a leading advocate and catalyst in the prevention and reversal of dementia. To achieve this, Hope for Dementia raises funds to provide services and fund promising research and clinical trials to reverse the symptoms in persons diagnosed with dementia.

Hope for Dementia currently offers three services – The Intergenerational Learning Program, in which seniors and youths to learn from each other and to reduce the social isolation that many elderly people experience; Healthy Food Healthy Brain food baskets distributed to low-income families and seniors in need; and Just Connect & Tablet Donation Program which inspires people to call or safely check up on seniors through the internet. 

www.hopefordementia.org

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ⁱ Prevalence and Monetary Costs of Dementia in Canada: Population Health Expert Panel.  Table 2, page 22, Published by the Alzheimer Society of Canada in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Toronto, Canada, 2016
ⁱⁱ Prevalence and Monetary Costs of Dementia in Canada: Population Health Expert Panel Table 4 page 32 & Figure 5 page 33
ⁱⁱⁱ Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Dementia in Canada Report online. 

SOURCE Hope for Dementia

Media contact: Camille N. Isaacs Morell, [email protected], [phone]