Rehabilitation Services for Young-Onset Dementia: Examples from High- and Low–Middle-Income Countries
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
ISSN
1660-4601
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Aida Suárez-González
Sharon A Savage
Suvarna Alladi
Viviane Amaral-Carvalho
Faheem Arshad
Julieta Camino
Paulo Caramelli
Adelina Comas-Herrera
Julia Cook
Claudia Cooper
Laura García Díaz
Stephanie M. Grasso
Regina Jokel
Monica Lavoie
Tomás León
Thomas Priya
Teresita Ramos Franco
Cathleen Taylor-Rubin
Rosemary Townsend
Angelika Thöne-Otto
Anna Volkmer
Wendy Weidner
Claire MC O’Connor
Type
journal-article
Abstract
<jats:p>The WHO Dementia Global Action Plan states that rehabilitation services for dementia are required to promote health, reduce disability, and maintain quality of life for those living with dementia. Current services, however, are scarce, particularly for people with young-onset dementia (YOD). This article, written by an international group of multidisciplinary dementia specialists, offers a three-part overview to promote the development of rehabilitation services for YOD. Firstly, we provide a synthesis of knowledge on current evidence-based rehabilitative therapies for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD), behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). Secondly, we discuss the characteristics of rehabilitation services for YOD, providing examples across three continents for how these services can be embedded in existing settings and the different roles of the rehabilitation multidisciplinary team. Lastly, we conclude by highlighting the potential of telehealth in making rehabilitation services more accessible for people with YOD. Overall, with this paper, we aim to encourage clinical leads to begin introducing at least some rehabilitation into their services, leveraging existing resources and finding support in the collective expertise of the broader multidisciplinary dementia professional community.</jats:p>
Cite this document
Suárez-González, A., Savage, S. A., Alladi, S., Amaral-Carvalho, V., Arshad, F., Camino, J., Caramelli, P., Comas-Herrera, A., Cook, J., Cooper, C., García Díaz, L., Grasso, S. M., Jokel, R., Lavoie, M., León, T., Priya, T., Ramos Franco, T., Taylor-Rubin, C., Townsend, R., … O’Connor, C. M. (2024). Rehabilitation services for young-onset dementia: Examples from high- and low–middle-income countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(6), 790. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21060790