Dementia is framed as a serious condition that may lead to a physically and psychologically dependent-life, with high impact in the quality of life of family carers (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2018e).

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.

Dementia is framed as one of the major mental health conditions in the official mental health service review, and one of the key service areas in the official elderly service plan. In the Mental Health Review Report (MHRR) there are three main chapters on mental health services including children and adolescents (Chapter 2), adults (Chapter 3), and dementia support services for the elderly (Chapter 4). Dementia is covered in one of the chapters. In the Elderly Services Programme Plan (ESPP), Chapter 5 describes the six areas of elderly services including active ageing, community care services and carer support, residential care services, Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism and case management, services for elderly persons with dementia, and end-of-life care. Dementia is covered in one of the areas and two corresponding recommendations are proposed among a total of 20 short, medium to long-term recommendations on elderly care services (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a; Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017).

References:

Food and Health Bureau. (2017a). Mental Health Review Report.  Retrieved from https://www.fhb.gov.hk/download/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_mhr/e_mhr_full_report.pdf.

Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, Elderly Commission of Government of Hong Kong SAR,. (2017). Elderly Services Programme Plan. Hong Kong: Elderly Commission of Government HKSAR Retrieved from https://www.elderlycommission.gov.hk/en/download/library/ESPP_Final_Report_Eng.pdf.

Not applicable.

Dementia is discussed in a clinical context in PERDOSSI’s clinical practice guideline. This guideline advises on promotion, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment aspects of dementia starting from the primary care level up to the third-level referral. It was developed based on adapting existing guidelines from other countries (including Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and the UK) to the local context, and was planned to be renewed in 2017 (PERDOSSI, 2015). However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no updated versions of the guideline or of other clinical guidelines publicly available.

References:

PERDOSSI. (2015). Panduan Praktik Klinik: Diagnosis dan Penatalaksanaan Demensia. PERDOSSI.

No data was sourced due to the embargo on the Mental Health Strategic Plan.

Dementia appears to be falling under the realm of mental health; however, no specific mention has been made in the mental health policy (Ministry of Health, 2015c)

References:

Ministry of Health. (2015c). Kenya mental health policy 2015-2030: Towards Attaining the Highest Standard of Mental Health. Nairobi, Kenya. https://publications.universalhealth2030.org/uploads/Kenya-Mental-Health-Policy.pdf

Not applicable.

NZ Dementia framework:

The NZDF tends to frame dementia as a physical condition, given the focus on cardiovascular and lifestyle risk reduction strategies. Regional pathways define dementia more precisely. For example, the Midlands dementia pathway (Ministry of Health, 2013) defines dementia as “an acquired, actively progressive, and largely irreversible clinical syndrome that is characterised by widespread impairment of mental function generally associated with a decline in activities of daily living and impairment in social function”.

 References:

Ministry of Health. (2013). New Zealand Framework for Dementia Care. Wellington Ministry of Health.

Dementia is largely invisible in South African policies, with the exception of the Older Person’s Act. The Department of Social Development (DSD) has an underlying ‘Active Aging’ philosophy embedded in its Older person’s programme (also underlying the Older Person’s Act) that promotes the full participation of older persons in their societies, decision-making, and keeping them in their families/communities for as long as possible (Jordan, 2009). The State frames care for older persons largely as the family’s responsibility, with the threat of this philosophy equating to the promotion of (unpaid) care largely being located within the home/family. This burden of unpaid care fall especially on women with negative effects on their capacity to participate in the labour market, and positions women as being responsible for large-scale social and political challenges (Sevenhuijsen et al., 2003).

References:

Jordan, C. (2009). Older Person’s Programme: Concept paper. Available from: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/other/2009/10/concept_paper-_programme_older_persons.pdf

Sevenhuijsen, S., Bozalek, V., Gouws, A. and Minnaar-Mcdonald, M. (2003). South African social welfare policy: An analysis using the ethic of care. Critical Social Policy, 23(3), 299–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/02610183030233001