Abstract
Abstract
Background
People with a migration background are vulnerable to dementia. Due to problems such as underdiagnosis or access barriers, the care of this population is a public health challenge in Europe. Many countries are issuing care guidelines, but a systematic overview of their references to migration groups is lacking. This study aims to analyze national dementia care guidelines regarding their focus on people with a migration background, what specific actions to ensure healthcare have been undertaken at the national level, and whether recommendations for action are made for this population.
Methods
This study is a systematic analysis of national dementia care guidelines of the EU and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries. Using the discourse analysis model by Keller (2011), 43 documents from 24 EU and 3 EFTA countries were systematically screened for migration references via keyword and context analysis. The content of the migration-related section was paraphrased, memos and comments were added, and the individual text passages were coded using the strategy of open coding.
Results
Twenty-seven of the 35 EU and EFTA countries have guidelines or similar documents on care for people with dementia, and 12 refer to migration. Norway, Sweden, and Northern Ireland refer to this topic in detail. The focus of the migration-related guidelines is on the early detection and diagnosis of dementia. The main message is that standardized diagnostic tools such as the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) or the clock test are not suitable for linguistic minorities. Nine countries make recommendations for the care of people with a migration background and dementia, but only Norway, Sweden, and Denmark point to available healthcare services. A key recommendation is that the linguistic and cultural background of people should be considered when selecting diagnostic tests. Several countries refer to the validity of the RUDAS (Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale) for migrants.
Conclusions
The topic of migration plays a subordinate role in the dementia care guidelines of European countries. Almost all countries lack appropriate diagnostic tools and healthcare services for people with a migration background. Consequently, this group is vulnerable to underdiagnosis and a lower level of care.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference75 articles.
1. Williamson T. Mapping dementia-friendly communities across Europe: a study commissi-oned by the European Foundations’ Initiative on Dementia (EFID). Brüssel: European Foundations’ Initiative on Dementia (EFID); 2016.
2. World Health Organization. Dementia: a public health priority. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012.
3. Alzheimer Europe. The development of intercultural care and support for people with dementia from minority ethnic groups. Luxembourg: Alzheimer Europe; 2018.
4. Ziegler U, Doblhammer G. Prävalenz und Inzidenz von Demenz in Deutschland – Eine Studie auf Basis von Daten der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungen von 2002. Gesundheitswesen. 2009;71(05):281–90.
5. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2017 revision; 2017.
Cited by
11 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献