Ontarians with dementia hit especially hard by pandemic
More than 500,000 Canadians are currently living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Older age is the biggest risk factor for dementia and for getting seriously ill from COVID-19.
Maintaining social connections is extremely important for persons living with dementia. Individuals in the advanced stages of the disorder rely on routine, familiarity and interactions with others. Physical-distancing measures undertaken during the pandemic have led to increasing challenges in caring effectively for residents with dementia in congregate care settings such as nursing homes.
Masking and social-distancing protocols are disorienting for persons living with dementia and present communication difficulties for caregivers and those they care for. These protocols also intensify social isolation, which is associated with physical, cognitive and mental decline in older adults, and especially in those living with dementia.
While increased loneliness, fear, depression and anxiety are major societal impacts of the pandemic, these are everyday experiences for persons living with dementia and their families.
A national study by the Baycrest Foundation titled The Canadian Brain Health Index, conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, looked at societal attitudes toward aging, healthcare research and brain health, and found that concern about the vulnerability of older adults is shared broadly by Ontarians. The need to address issues around dementia (92 per cent) and residential care (92 per cent) are the two leading themes that Ontario residents feel need to be addressed in order to improve health care for Canada’s aging population.
Nine-in-10 Ontarians list breakthrough research in brain health (89 per cent), social isolation/ loneliness (86 per cent) and well-being and lifestyle supports (87 per cent) as key areas of requiring more attention. Additionally, the study found virtually all respondents agree that COVID-19 has uncovered a greater need to focus on senior health care (96 per cent) and more generally, to support the most vulnerable among us (96 per cent).
If there’s any silver lining to the pandemic, it’s that it seems to have fostered broad sentiment toward the importance of addressing issues pertaining to the well-being of our aging population.
Canada has a national strategy on dementia, designed to help prevent this major public health threat, advance therapies and improve the quality of life for those affected. There is also significant research happening in Canada’s backyard, with the announcements of breakthroughs in brain health and senior care with each passing year.
Campaigns such as the Yogen Fruz Brain Projectin support of Baycrest use sculptures to ignite conversations about brain health. The charitable art initiative forges a connection between artists, celebrities, researchers and the public to challenge the belief that dementia is a natural or inevitable consequence of aging. Grassroots initiatives like The Brain Project are critical. They support research, raise public awareness about brain health and aging, and educate people on how to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
It’s important to find ways to ensure these public conversations stay top of mind long after the pandemic recedes. We are making strides toward shining a light on the vulnerabilities of older adults in long-term care, the experiences of those living with dementia, and how best as a society, we will meet the health-care needs of a growing older adult population.