Post by Admin on Mar 23, 2024 13:54:01 GMT
Where is the Support for Black and Ethnic Minority People Living with Dementia?
Black and ethnic minority communities are under-represented in dementia debate and action – despite facing multiple inequalities related to the condition
Saba Salman
20 March 2024
bylinetimes.com/2024/03/20/where-is-the-support-for-black-and-ethnic-minority-people-living-with-dementia/
Of the almost one million people living with dementia in the UK, around 25,000 are from a black or ethnic minority background. This population is set to double to 50,000 by 2026, and grow to 172,000 by 2051.
This seven-fold increase compares to a two-fold increase in the general population, as quoted in a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia.
Dementia is a high-profile issue.
The family of actor Bruce Willis, diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia last year, is shattering preconceptions about the condition and caregiving. Recent studies suggest scientists are close to creating a blood test to predict dementia. And the late activist Wendy Mitchell, who died last month, advocated powerfully for awareness.
But black and ethnic minority communities are under-represented in dementia debate and action – despite facing a triple whammy of inequality related to the condition. They are considered to be at higher risk. Awareness and diagnosis rates are lower (some South Asian languages have no word for dementia). Culturally appropriate, faith-sensitive provision is scant.
The disparity has revealed itself starkly to me as my extended family now includes two older relatives living with dementia – one is from a white British background, and one was born in India, but has lived in England since childhood (it was a surprise to find my South Asian relative reverting occasionally to their mother tongue, for example).
One reason dementia is rising in ethnic groups is, as a 2021 Alzheimer’s Society report states, some people who moved here during the 1950s and 1970s are reaching an age where dementia is more likely to develop.
Black and ethnic minority communities are under-represented in dementia debate and action – despite facing multiple inequalities related to the condition
Saba Salman
20 March 2024
bylinetimes.com/2024/03/20/where-is-the-support-for-black-and-ethnic-minority-people-living-with-dementia/
Of the almost one million people living with dementia in the UK, around 25,000 are from a black or ethnic minority background. This population is set to double to 50,000 by 2026, and grow to 172,000 by 2051.
This seven-fold increase compares to a two-fold increase in the general population, as quoted in a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia.
Dementia is a high-profile issue.
The family of actor Bruce Willis, diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia last year, is shattering preconceptions about the condition and caregiving. Recent studies suggest scientists are close to creating a blood test to predict dementia. And the late activist Wendy Mitchell, who died last month, advocated powerfully for awareness.
But black and ethnic minority communities are under-represented in dementia debate and action – despite facing a triple whammy of inequality related to the condition. They are considered to be at higher risk. Awareness and diagnosis rates are lower (some South Asian languages have no word for dementia). Culturally appropriate, faith-sensitive provision is scant.
The disparity has revealed itself starkly to me as my extended family now includes two older relatives living with dementia – one is from a white British background, and one was born in India, but has lived in England since childhood (it was a surprise to find my South Asian relative reverting occasionally to their mother tongue, for example).
One reason dementia is rising in ethnic groups is, as a 2021 Alzheimer’s Society report states, some people who moved here during the 1950s and 1970s are reaching an age where dementia is more likely to develop.