Homes for People with Dementia Advocated.

From: Stephen K.Effah, Kintampo (AMMREN GHANA)

A Clinical psychologist at the Kintampo Health Research (KHRC) Centre, Bright Akpalu, has proposed the establishment of elderly homes in the country to provide care for people with dementia, memory impairment due to progressive brain injury.

Dementia is a condition characterized by a progressive decline of metal abilities accompanied by changes in personality and behaviour. It can also be described as a brain disorder with permanent memory loss or other higher cognitive function.

Dementia is caused by degeneration in the cerebral context, including death of brain cells, a condition that impairs the vascular or neurologic structures.

Mr. Akpalu said a recent study carried out by the KHRC in the Kintampo districts in the Brong Ahafo Region revealed that about six percent of the elderly had dementia, which he said is on the “high side” compared to the 2.6 per cent global figure.

He made the proposal in interview with journalists from the Africa Media and Malaria Research Network during a visit to the centre to assess the progress of a Malaria Clinical Trial ongoing at the KHRC.

More than 24.3 million people are currently estimated to have dementia globally, and 4.6 million new cases are diagnosed each year meaning a new case every seven seconds.

He said catering for demented people has been one of the difficult tasks for relatives and families as “they get aggressive”, as a result, most people affected by disease have been neglected.

He explained that although dementia affects people who are 65 years plus, “it is not part of the aging process,” saying some people grow beyond the 65 years without getting demented.

The clinical psychologist said that the first sign of dementia is usually loss of short-term memory while those with irreversible or untreated dementia present a slow, gradual decline in mental functions and movements over several years.

“They (demented people) are unable to recollect or remember recent events but they easily remember long-term events like their wedding,” he said.

The symptoms of dementia can be managed, he said, by setting up elderly homes for such people to help them and their families, adding families who would have their relatives at such homes could be charged to get people to take care of them.

He also underscored the need for the government to provide both financial and psychological support to make life worthwhile for the elderly, especially those with dementia.