Abstract
BackgroundDementia is one of the greatest health challenges in the contemporary world. Due to several barriers to accessing health care services, elderly immigrants constitute a group that poses special challenges in dementia diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators in accessing and using dementia care services by minority ethnic groups in Norway.MethodsThe study utilised a qualitative design. The participants included family caregivers of individuals from minority ethnic groups living with dementia, representatives of immigrant communities, and representatives of health and care personnel working with people living with dementia. Individual semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out in 2018 and 2019 in Oslo and Akershus. Interviews were analysed using thematic analyses.ResultsSeveral barriers and facilitators in accessing and using dementia care services were identified, the most important of which were related to lack of knowledge of dementia, lack of awareness of dementia care services, lack of language skills, culturally based differences, the organisation of Norwegian dementia care services, and immigrants’ socio-economic status. According to the study participants, having health care personnel in the family and further adaptation of dementia services to the needs of people with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds facilitate access to dementia services.ConclusionsThe study shows the need to develop inclusive policies that promote a patient-centred approach to ensure that individuals from minority ethnic groups receive appropriate dementia care.
Highlights
Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges in the contemporary world
The results presented in this paper are based on interviews with participants from three different groups: 1) individuals from minority ethnic groups with family members who a) have been diagnosed with dementia or b) had no diagnosis but experienced memory loss; 2) key representatives of immigrant communities; and 3) representatives of health and care personnel working with dementia patients
Four themes related to the barriers to accessing and using dementia care services by minority ethnic groups in Norway were identified: lack of knowledge about dementia, lack of awareness of dementia care services, culturerelated barriers and barriers related to the Norwegian health services
Summary
Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges in the contemporary world. Due to several barriers to accessing health care services, elderly immigrants constitute a group that poses special challenges in dementia diagnosis and treatment. The leading cause of death are not acute and infectious diseases but chronic and degenerative diseases [4] They are linked to increasing dependency, long-term care needs and disability [3]. One such disease is dementia, considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be one of the greatest public health challenges of this century [5]. According to a review of the studies on the benefits and challenges of timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, there are many potential benefits of early diagnosis of AD, such as better management of symptoms, implementation of coordinated care plans and postponement of institutionalisation [9]. A systematic review of the literature on prevalence and determinants of undetected dementia in the community and/or residential/nursing care show that more than 60% of dementia cases go undetected [13]
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