NATIONAL HEALTH PRIORITY AREAS

Dementia

DEMENTIA – key features/descriptionDementia is not a single specific disease. It is a term used to describe over a 100 conditions that are characterised by progressive and irreversible Loss of brain function.Dementia interferes with normal behaviour patterns and affects memory, language, speech, attention and personalityTypes of dementia – Alzheimer’s disease (familial) ; vascular dementia

Reasons for DEMENTIA to be selected as a NHPA

● 4th largest contributor to the burden of disease in Australian – contributes to YLL and YLDs. Dementia is predicted to become the leading cause of disability in Australia by 2016.

● affects many Australians and rates are predicted to increase significantly as the population ages

●costs to the health care system are considerable – GP visits; medication and constant care

COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DEMENTIADIRECT COSTS INDIRECT COSTS INTANGIBLE COSTS

Individual Community Individual Community Individual Community

● Cost of permanent residential care for person suffering from dementia

●Costs associated with diagnosis and medications

●GP visits – out of pocket expenses, gap or co-payment

● Cost of diagnosis and treatment paid through Medicare

●Cost of medications paid through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

● cost to government supporting the age care facilities

●Cost to the government and private organisations of health promotion programs. EG cost to the Australian Govt “Living Longer, Longer Stronger”

●Cost of a carer for someone who suffers dementia – people become completely dependent for transport, shopping, cleaning, washing, cooking

●Loss of income as a person cannot work because of dementia

●The cost of social security payments through Centrelink for someone who cannot work or is disabled because of dementia

●Loss of taxation revenue by the government because of person is unable to work and not pay taxes

●Loss of productivity by the person who cannot work or a person who has to give up work to care for the person

●Person may experience a range of emotions – sadness, anger, frustration, fear, despair.

●loss of confidence and independence

Family and friends experience loss and sadness – person no longer remembers who they are and the relationship they shared

BIOLOGICAL determinants of health that act as risk factors

BEHAVIOURAL determinants of health that act as risk factors

SOCIAL determinants of health that act as risk factors

THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT as a risk factor

A health promotion program relevant to ASTHMA that has been introduced to reduce the burden of disease associated with ASTHMA

N Your Brain MattersO Alzheimer’s AustraliaF Your Brain Matters provides a number of resources:

1.Brain Health Program – broken into 3 areas - brain – importance of staying mentally and socially active to reduce risk of dementia. Learn new skills, participate in quizzes and puzzles-body – provides information to assist people in modifying risk factors including limiting alcohol intake, eat wide variety of nutritious foods and participate in regular physical activity-heart – provides advice on reducing risk of dementia by addressing blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, body weight and smoking2. BrainyApp – mobile phone and tablet app that educates individuals and provides them with suggestions for reducing the risk of dementia.The app includes quizzes assesses individual’s current risk of dementia. Includes word game and memory game that promote thinking and problem solving skills3. Dementia-related fact sheets – sheets provided in 22 languages to assist people from different cultures to understand and implement dementia preventing behaviours

O Works to reduce the risk of dementia