Increasing Number of Alzheimer Patients may Cause Shortage of Caregivers

A recent report regarding Alzheimer's patients shows that by 2050, the number of dependent older adults will increase to 277 million with 50 percent of aged adults requiring personal care regarding dementia.

Care givers by family, friends and other elders in the community throughout the United States require financial aid from the government in order to care for those with this cognitive problem. In fact, according to a 2013 report from World Alzheimer, leaders are hoping to prioritize the problem with dementia by executing national strategies and plans in order to discuss better solutions to long-term care.

It's estimated that globally, 13 percent of people aging 60 and above require long-term health care and those numbers will rise from 101 million to 277 million by as early as 2050. The authors estimate that this could cost as much as $600 billion in total allotment for such programs, aside from monetary allocations that would allow dementia patients and their families a chance to "live well with dementia."

"People with dementia have special needs. Compared with other long-term-care users they need more personal care, more hours of care and more supervision, all of which is associated with greater strain on caregivers, and higher costs. Their needs for care start early in the disease course, and evolve constantly over time, requiring advanced planning, monitoring and coordination," said lead author and professor at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London Martin Price, according to WebMD.

Some of the more specific recommendations presented were systems that could more closely monitor quality care given to those with dementia, freedom to choose for patients, improvement of social and health care systems for both caregivers and patients, sufficient training for caregivers, appreciation of family caregivers and supervision of care homes to maintain quality.

More information regarding the report can be found here.