National dementia strategy

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An expert panel has released a report outlining the best ways to tackle the growing incidence of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia among Canadians as a basis for the federal government's long-promised national strategy on the progressive brain diseases.

The report by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences panel, released Monday, is aimed at helping the Public Health Agency of Canada create and implement a national dementia strategy, which is expected to be unveiled toward the end of this year.

"The report is not a plan," said Dr. Howard Bergman of McGill University, who chaired the six-member panel. "It will inform those preparing the plan by looking at the evidence and then assessing the best practices."

More than half a million Canadians are living with dementia. By 2031, that number is expected to nearly double, says the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Two-thirds of those affected by the neurodegenerative conditions are women.

In the document, panel members say quality of life for Canadians living with dementia and their caregivers, as well as access to health and social care, can be improved across all stages of the disease process, which in some people can last for years, even decades.

Basing its overall findings on evidence from individual provinces and national and international policies and best practices in dementia care and support, the report recommends that the development of a national strategy consider seven priorities. They include engaging persons living with dementia, education and support for caregivers, building and supporting the health- and social-care workforce, and supporting research and innovation in all stages of dementia.

Despite the lack of a formalized pan-Canadian strategy, Bergman said the federal government already has a solid basis for creating a plan for dealing with a disease that costs the country an estimated $10.4 billion year. By 2031, that figure is expected to increase by 60 per cent, to almost $17 billion.

"I have often heard Canada doesn't have a dementia strategy," he said from Montreal. "That is false, because we've had provincial dementia plans which compare with the best plans in the world, that began in the 1990s."

The challenge for the Public Health Agency, he said, will be melding best practices from those plans into a national strategy, to support those who may have the most difficulty accessing diagnostic and care services, including Canadians living in rural areas, immigrants, Indigenous Canadians and those within the LGBTQ community.

A national dementia strategy must be flexible and avoid a "one-size-fits-all approach," Bergman said.