There are courses to improve awareness and knowledge about dementia among the workforce. The Cognitive Neurology subdivision of the Indian Academy of Neurologists conducts teaching courses in cognitive neurology in neurology and psychiatry annually (IAN, n.d.). In addition, geriatric care training was provided by the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (National Institute of Social Defence, [NISD], n.d.). This training programme included a module on dementia care (NISD, n.d.). However, this programme is not being continued. The NISD also had a bedside assistants programme (NISD, n.d.), which has also been discontinued.

More recently, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka, NITI-Aayog and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) have come together to launch the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KBHI). KBHI aims to develop a comprehensive strategy to address burden associated with common neurological disorders including dementia in the community (Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KBHI), 2022). As a part of this initiative, a pilot project to train public primary health care physicians on diagnosing and treating neurological conditions including dementia has been initiated by specialists at NIMHANS in Karnataka (Alladi, 2022).

References:

Alladi. S (2022). Primary Health Care doctors training by neurologists. Twitter. Available from: https://twitter.com/alladi_suvarna/status/1502244487191416833?cxt=HHwWgsCqjdzZhdkpAAAA

Indian Academy of Neurology. (n.d.). Cognitive Neurology. Available from: https://www.ianindia.org/cognitive-neurology.php

Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (2022). Forum for Karnataka Brain Health Initiative. National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. Available from: https://brainhealthnimhans.in/#

National Institute of Social Defence. (n.d). Courses. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Available from: http://www.nisd.gov.in/old_age_training.html