Last week, we held our joint EQUADEM/ INTERDEM Taskforce Symposium on Solutions to Dementia Inequalities at the Friends’ Meeting House in Manchester. We were delighted to be joined by international academics in the field of dementia, geriatrics, and psychology from Lithuania, Portugal, and Norway who shared their insights into inequalities in dementia in their countries, and possible solutions, with the audience.
First up, we heard from Prof Jurate Macijauskiene from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences about inequalities and risk factors, followed by A/Prof Oscar Ribeiro from the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Portugal’s dementia research is growing with emerging research highlighting particularly geographical inequalities in care receipt and delivery. The notion of geographical differences in access was taken forward by Prof Anne Marie Rokstad from Norway, especially given Norway’s large areas of very remote lifestyles. It can take hours to reach the nearest hospital for example.
Talks were followed by an overview of solution-focused work we have been working on in our Equadem Network Plus and the INTERDEM Taskforce on inequalities in Dementia. The latter was established in Bucharest in 2022, and is now comprising over 60 researchers across different career stages from 16 countries, including Germany, the UK, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, and Poland.
A recent global systematic review with evidence from 13 countries has shown that evidence is diverse and minimal for most types of solutions, with a lack of cost-effectiveness data. There are clear indications for key solutions including dementia link workers, communities of practice and wider networks, as well as one-stop memory clinics providing same day diagnostic assessments in rural countries or regions. Moreover, our Year 1 EQUADEM consultation exercise with over 130 people with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care professionals, and third sector providers has highlighted that most solutions are suggested on a system and infrastructure level – so how well health and social care services are connected, how well care professionals work across different disciplines, service availability, and workforce knowledge and training. Recent European research with our three international keynote speakers has further amplified how health and social care services and professionals could be connected better – such as by multi-disciplinary teams as well as third sector providers plugging the gap in service provision.
Before discussing possible solutions to inequalities at group tables, we were delighted to be joined by another Dementia Network Plus – SPIN-D. Prof Chris Fox, co-lead of the network, shared the progress of the network to date. Group discussions were fruitful and interesting, and hopefully left everyone on a more positive note to try and address inequalities in dementia together.
If you are working in health or social care or a third sector organisation, and are keen on contributing to the work on solutions to inequalities in dementia diagnosis or care, we have a fantastic opportunity. Our third call for research internships has just launched, and you can find out full details on our website here. Deadline for submissions is the 27th of November.
Clarissa