Taking part in this programme are Dr. Laura Phipps, Science Communications Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Matthew Baumgart, Senior Director of Public Policy for the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.
Finding a cure for dementia in the near or even distant future is not something that we should count on. This leaves us all to wonder how out governments’ health care programmes are going to be able to support the multitude of people who will contract the disease or who already have it. The problem is acerbated by a stigma, which is attached to having the disease, and the fact that old people are not the most active in standing up for their own rights. An international public awareness campaign is needed, and action on an inter-governmental level is essential. Much work has already been carried out, however much more is needed, as vast sums of money are needed both to finance research and to finance remedial health care. New ways of handling dementia – such as increased home care all need to be researched. Dementia is probably the most serious health care problem facing our societies in the 21st century, and yet it is hardly ever discussed.
