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Dementia care in India: a progress report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

K. S. Shaji  and
Amit Dias
K. S. Shaji
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Thrissur — 680596, Kerala, India, email [email protected]
Amit Dias
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Goa Medical College, Bambolim, Goa — 403202, India
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According to the 2001 census, India is home to more than 76 million people aged 60 years and over. This age-group, currently only 7.4% of the population, is expected to grow dramatically in the coming few decades. Analysis of the census data shows substantial variation in the rate of demographic ageing across India: at present, 10.5% of Kerala's population is older than 60 years, while in Dadra and Nagarhaveli this proportion is only 4%. Regions with more favourable health indicators seem to be ageing faster and the demand for specialist services will soon be evident in such places. There is a growing realisation that the care of older people with disabilities makes enormous demands on their carers. Terms such as ‘dementia’ and ‘Alzheimer's disease’ are now better understood. This was not the case when the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) initiated awareness programmes. However, dementia remains a largely hidden problem in those disadvantaged parts of India where poverty and illiteracy remain prevalent.

Type
Thematic Papers — Dementia in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , October 2006 , pp. 9 - 10
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2006

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