Creating Excellence in Dementia Care: A Research Review for Ireland’s National Dementia Strategy
Resource type: Research Report
The School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, Dublin and The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, NUIG |
More people in Ireland have dementia than cancer or heart disease yet it has been a largely invisible and underfunded health issue, according to a new report by Suzanne Cahill and Maria Pierce from the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, Dublin; and Eamon O’Shea from the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, National University of Ireland, Galway.
An estimated 41,000 Irish people have dementia, a figure which is expected to triple by 2041, according to the report. The report estimates the cost of caring for people with dementia at £1.7 billion a year. The report, funded by Atlantic, will lay the foundation for Ireland’s first National Strategy for Dementia, which is expected by 2013. The report urges the government to involve people with dementia and their caregivers in crafting its strategy.
The authors also suggested guidelines for public policy in Ireland that include:
(1) greater emphasis on prevention;
(2) increased public awareness about dementia;
(3) increased early diagnosis; and
(4) development of a case management model of integrated care.
The School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, Dublin and the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, National University of Ireland, Galway are Atlantic grantees through the Ageing Programme in the Republic of Ireland.