07.02.01.08. About the assessment and management of behavioural and psychological symptoms, what kind of interventions are available to people with dementia or their informal carers? | Kenya

07.02.01.08. About the assessment and management of behavioural and psychological symptoms, what kind of interventions are available to people with dementia or their informal carers? | Kenya

04 Apr 2022

Management is mostly based on symptom reduction through pharmacological treatment (prescription by doctors). In counties where there are no psychologists to provide counseling services mainly to the caregiver, management is provided by psychiatric nurses or enrolled/nursing officers. The magnitude of the psychosocial interventions by the latter staff may not be sufficient because of lack of expertise as most health care workers are not very well equipped with information on dementia care. Caregivers are advised on the best ways to take care of their loved ones with little or no emphasis on self-care (Musyimi et al., 2019). The heavy reliance on informal care giving and families impacts negatively on the mental wellbeing and quality of life of caregiver especially in Kenya where respite care and caregiver training centers do not exist.

References:

Musyimi, C., Mutunga, E., & Ndetei, D. (2019). Stigma and dementia care in Kenya: Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries (STRiDE) Project. In World Alzheimer Report 2019: Attitudes to dementia (pp. 121–122). London, UK: Alzheimer’s Disease International. https://www.alzint.org/u/WorldAlzheimerReport2019.pdf