University lends expertise in drive to improve dementia care in Ghana
The University of Huddersfield is leading a drive to improve dementia care in Ghana following a recent workshop that brought a range of key stakeholders together.
Led by Precious Adade Duodu, Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing, the day-long event was attended by nearly 100 people including policymakers, academics, researchers, healthcare professionals, persons living with dementia, family caregivers, faith-based and community leaders. The event was held at the Amonoo-Neizer Conference Centre, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
The forum also featured as a lead item on Ghana’s state-owned television news, which Precious hopes will help lead his country to develop national policies on dementia as well as address stigmas around the condition.
With life expectancy in Ghana at around 66 years of age, compared to 59 in 2000 according to WHO, the country has more people living with dementia at a later age and there is increasing demand for solutions to how they are cared for.
"Ghana doesn't have a policy on dementia at all, but since the meeting I have been in contact with Honourable Patricia Appiagyei, MP and Chair of the Population Caucus”, says Precious, who is also the University's International Lead for Nursing and a KNUST alumni. “She has told me that there is potential for us to collaborate and get something done to improve the situation.”
Hon. Appiagyei added, “The high prevalence of dementia among the ageing population is a reality which has been submerged into spirituality and witchcraft.
The conference featured prominently on Ghana TV's news.
The time for awareness creation and collaboration between caregivers, researchers, policymakers and all other stakeholders to develop the right policies to address the rising numbers of people with dementia is now.
Chair of the Population Caucus, Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament -
Precious continued, “We’re building on the project we began two years ago with Strategic Research Investment Seed Funding (SRIF) of £5,000 from the School of Human and Health Sciences. Three publications came out of that initial project, and now we have reached beyond academics to share the findings with stakeholders who have direct contact with dementia care in Ghana.
"All the stakeholders came together so we could show and analyse the research findings in the same place. We have to ask, how do we develop caregiver support programmes? Dementia in Ghana is seen from a largely spiritualized point of view, so how do we end the stigmas that surround it?
“We have co-developed culturally appropriate recommendations, practical solutions, and policy briefs to influence dementia and non-communicable disease care in Ghana. Our next steps are to champion policy reform, strengthen caregiver support by sourcing funding to create a family caregiver network, and lead stigma-reduction campaigns in partnership with local and international stakeholders.”
Discover more about the conference.
Professor Padam Simkhada, the university's Associate Dean International and Professor of Global Health, added, "This workshop shows the power of collaboration in tackling dementia care in Ghana. By uniting policymakers, health professionals, and communities, we can reduce stigma, strengthen caregiver support, and shape evidence-based policies to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their families."
The event was supported by KNUST through Professor Christian Agyare, Provost of the College of Health Sciences, and Professor Veronica Millicent Dzomeku, Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery and Visiting Professor at UoH, who gave the welcome and opening addresses. UoH and KNUST maintain a partnership through a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which provided a strong platform for this collaboration.