04.03.05.03. Are the preferences of people with dementia encouraged to be considered in care practice and decision making? | Brazil

04.03.05.03. Are the preferences of people with dementia encouraged to be considered in care practice and decision making? | Brazil

07 Apr 2022

This should happen (stated in policy), but there is no evidence that this occurs in practice. Not only people living with dementia, but all older people, as part of the integral healthcare orientation document and the multidimensional assessment for older people (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2018e). However, we could not find information about how many older adults on average have this assessment completed routinely throughout the country, nor there is information about how this is managed when the person with dementia can no longer express his/her wishes. There is not a clear guidance about how this should be done, so it depends on the willingness of the clinician involved in the care provided.

References:

Brazilian Ministry of Health. (2018e). Orientações Técnicas para a Implementação de Linha de Cuidado para Atenção integral à Saúde da Pessoa Idosa no Sistema Único de Saúde—SUS. Ministério da Saúde do Brasil.