Dementia needs funding
July 12, 2012
OVER half of all Australians
mistake the symptoms of dementia
for being a normal part of ageing,
according to a new Newspoll survey.
According to the survey, nearly
one in five Australians said that if a
family member had memory loss or
confusion they would think it was a
natural part of ageing, whilst 10%
of people aged 19-34 told
researchers that they never heard
of Alzheimer’s disease.
Discussing the survey, Ita
Buttrose, President of Alzheimer’s
Australia, said that worrying results
reflected a lack of awareness and
stigma surrounding dementia,
which can lead to social exclusion
not only for people with dementia,
but also their carers and families,
along with delays in seeking
medical help.
“Dementia research is grossly
underfunded in relation to health
and care costs, disability burden
and prevalence compared to other
chronic diseases,” Buttrose said.
“We want to get the message
across that as a society we can beat
dementia in the same way we have
tackled HIV/Aids, cancer and heart
disease,” she said.
As such, Alzheimer’s Australia is
advocating for an increase of $200m
in government investment for
research, which it says would be
equivalent of 1% of the total cost of
care.
“And what could be more positive
than the next stage of our
campaign to invest in research and
start working now towards a world
without dementia,” Buttrose said.
“It is an ambitious goal, but one
which I know is worth fighting for,”
she added.
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