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

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

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.

 

As mentioned in the Mental Health Review Report (MHRR), persons with dementia and their family members can appoint a guardian or an attorney to make decisions on financial, legal, and healthcare arrangements for them under the two ordinances of legal protection as previously mentioned.

The Elderly Services Programme Plan (ESPP) mentions the principle of enabling informed choices with adequate and updated information provided to older people which match their varying needs, such as the quality, quantity, fees, and location of different services units (Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017, p. 13).

References:

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.

The national dementia policy has not discussed this issue explicitly (Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia, 2015b).

References:

Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia. (2015b). National Strategy: Management of Alzheimer and Other Dementia Diseases: Towards Healthy and Productive Older Persons. Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia.

No data was sourced due to a lack of dementia policy in Jamaica.

It is not specifically mentioned in the document.

Not applicable as there is no dementia-specific policy or plan for South Africa.