By Joe Elia
If the cost of dementia care in 2010 were a country, it would represent the world’s 18th-largest economy, ranked between Turkey and Indonesia, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International’s annual report.
The report focuses on long-term care, with global costs estimated to nearly double (to US$1.1 trillion) by 2030.
The authors warn against a “pay-as-you-go” approach to paying for dementia care, because “future generations of working age adults will struggle to produce enough to pay” for their parents’ care. They also call for better integration of health and social care systems to create “coordinated care pathways.”
Observing that caregivers often work at minimum wages (or earn nothing at all in the case of family members), the report recommends better pay and working conditions for them.
