10 Dementia: a disability and a human rights concern
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Suzanne Cahill
Abstract
Dementia is a broad clinical term used to describe a group of illnesses that have common symptoms but different origins. There are hundreds of different types of dementia, but by far the most common is Alzheimer’s disease (Winblad et al, 2016). Age is the single strongest risk factor for dementia (WHO, 2019), but some rarer types of dementia, such as frontotemporal dementia, can occur in younger to middle-aged adults (Jefferies and Aggrawal, 2009). Around the world, about 50 million people have dementia, of whom about 10 million live in Europe (WHO, 2019). However, population ageing means that over the next 30 years the numbers of people likely to develop dementia will reach 131 million. The biggest increase will be among people living in low- to middle-income countries, as this is where population ageing is happening fastest (WHO, 2015a). Dementia does not only incur emotional and social costs; its economic cost is very considerable. For example, in 2018 the global cost of dementia was estimated to be circa $1 trillion (ADI, 2015). Accordingly, the magnitude of dementia should not be underestimated.
Abstract
Dementia is a broad clinical term used to describe a group of illnesses that have common symptoms but different origins. There are hundreds of different types of dementia, but by far the most common is Alzheimer’s disease (Winblad et al, 2016). Age is the single strongest risk factor for dementia (WHO, 2019), but some rarer types of dementia, such as frontotemporal dementia, can occur in younger to middle-aged adults (Jefferies and Aggrawal, 2009). Around the world, about 50 million people have dementia, of whom about 10 million live in Europe (WHO, 2019). However, population ageing means that over the next 30 years the numbers of people likely to develop dementia will reach 131 million. The biggest increase will be among people living in low- to middle-income countries, as this is where population ageing is happening fastest (WHO, 2015a). Dementia does not only incur emotional and social costs; its economic cost is very considerable. For example, in 2018 the global cost of dementia was estimated to be circa $1 trillion (ADI, 2015). Accordingly, the magnitude of dementia should not be underestimated.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Preface xv
- Social work and critical gerontology: why the former needs the latter 1
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Critical gerontology as guiding principles for social work with older people
- The lifecourse and old age 19
- Human rights and older people 35
- Agency and autonomy 51
- Poverty and late-life homelessness 66
- Sexuality and rights in later life 81
- Ethnicity, race and migrancy 97
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Applying the critical gerontological lens to social work research, policy and practice
- Assessment, care planning and decision making 115
- Elder abuse 130
- Dementia: a disability and a human rights concern 146
- User involvement 161
- Opportunities and future prospects for gerontological social work with a critical lens 177
- Index 192
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Preface xv
- Social work and critical gerontology: why the former needs the latter 1
-
Critical gerontology as guiding principles for social work with older people
- The lifecourse and old age 19
- Human rights and older people 35
- Agency and autonomy 51
- Poverty and late-life homelessness 66
- Sexuality and rights in later life 81
- Ethnicity, race and migrancy 97
-
Applying the critical gerontological lens to social work research, policy and practice
- Assessment, care planning and decision making 115
- Elder abuse 130
- Dementia: a disability and a human rights concern 146
- User involvement 161
- Opportunities and future prospects for gerontological social work with a critical lens 177
- Index 192
