Vascular Dementia

Biography

Biography: David Truswell

Abstract

London, the UK capital is home to 58% of all those who identified themselves as African-Caribbean in the UK 2011 National Census.

It is demographically the oldest of the Black populations in the Census categories and proportionally has a higher rate of dementia than the White UK majority. With research indicating that vascular dementia and early onset dementia are a growing issuesrnfor Caribbean men under the age of 65 strong cultural beliefs lead many of those most at risk to dismiss any mainstream efforts atrnpreventative health education. Denial of problems and refusal to seek help or diagnosis can often lead to a major crisis before therernis any engagement with professional support services and frustrate efforts to develop ongoing links with services. Culture Dementia UK a voluntary organization has been working on awareness raising and providing support in the African-Caribbean community inrnLondon. The presentation explores how the African-Caribbean cultural narrative of independence and resilience mitigates againstrnhelp-seeking in dementia and some of the approaches adopted by Culture Dementia UK to raise awareness and encourage people to look for support.