Challenges of Dementia care in times of COVID. Change and survive or Perish

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID era forced dementia centers to reshaped their strategies in order to keep providing care to patients and to their familiesMethodAdaptation of simple social media tools as a telemedicine systemResultVery usefulConclusionOur Institute faced the same challenges that all other institutions, having to deal with isolation, fear, decreased income and uncertainty. Patients and caregivers suffered enormously these facts.We developed a complex system of telemedicine in order to keep being responsible for the continuing care. Our country was not adapted in technology by that time and most the families belonged to low income sector. Most of them (65% approximately) did not have even a personal computer at home.We adapted neuropsychiatric consultations, neuropsychological evaluations and cognitive training using simple tools such as Instagram, Zoom, Meet and mainly Whatsapp.We were able not only to provide the very same standard of care to patients but also the hold the needs of the caregivers.This rudimentary structure created during the sanitary emergency was the basis for a larger, more complex and sophisticated web platform that we developed and today we are using as a virtual Alzheimer Institute, being able to reach patients and caregivers worldwide.