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Guest Blog: The importance of research for dealing with the global phenomenon of dementia

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Date published: 
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
News source: 
CARDI
Region: 
Republic of Ireland
Featured item on home page: 
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As part of our guest blog series and to mark World Alzheimer's Day, Grainne McGettrick, Policy and Research Officer, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland underlines the importance of research for dealing with the global phenomenon of dementia:Grainne McGettrick, Alzheimer's Society of Ireland

44,000 in Ireland, 6.1 million in Europe, 24.3 million worldwide – these figures represent the numbers of people living with dementia today. These numbers will double every twenty years. Truly dementia is a global phenomenon and is now a major public health issue with massive social and economic implications. 
 
Yet currently just one per cent of most European countries’ GDP is spent on dementia. Despite its large potential impact, dementia continues to receive inadequate attention and is a relatively new area of policy focus. Indeed, it is an area of policy that is significantly under-invested in and receives dismissive responses at political levels. I would suggest that the ‘trick’ to dealing with this is to provide the evidence base through research that dementia warrants much greater levels of attention.... Read the rest of Grainne's blog here

 

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