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conferenceseries
.com
10
th
International Conference on
February 22-23, 2018 | Paris, France
Vascular Dementia
Volume 8
Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
ISSN: 2161-0460
Vascular Dementia 2018
February 22-23, 2018
Psychosocial aspects of caring for dementia and Alzheimer in Qatar
Suzanne Hammad
and
Suhad Daher-Nashif
Qatar University, Qatar
I
n 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) projected a threefold in dementia cases over the next decade. This
declaration, coupled with a notable increase in dementia cases locally, led the state of Qatar to evaluate and improve its
healthcare provision for people with dementia. The most notable project was the establishment of the WHO global dementia
observatory team in partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation, as well as a dedicated civil society organization Ehsan that
cares for the wellbeing of elderly community members. The observatory project is the first of its kind in the Middle East and
Arab region, and considered as one of several projects dedicated to people with dementia and Alzheimer in Qatar. Based on
research project on dementia in Qatar, this presentation will reveal the work on dementia and Alzheimer in Qatar from the
caregivers’ and professionals’ views. Amultidisciplinary research team from the Center for Humanities and Social Sciences and
the College of Medicine at Qatar University conducts the study, which is generously supported by civil society organization
Ehsan-Center for Elderly Care and Empowerment, and in close collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation. The study
seeks to address the question: How are people living with Dementia and Alzheimer cared for in Qatar? Since the question is
addressing processes, dynamics and attitudes, the researchers used qualitative research methodology. For collecting the data,
the researchers used ethnographic-archival strategies that included the following tools: Open deep interviews, semi-structures
interviews, focus groups interviews, active observations, and analyses of relevant documents. Drawing on all these data
resources, the presentation will illuminate the psychosocial challenges that stand in the family’s journey in caregiving and their
psychosocial needs. Privileging caregivers and professionals’ perspectives, this qualitative study explores the medical, religious
and socio-cultural facets of dementia and Alzheimer care in Qatar. It will explore the integrated work between the different
intervention agents of the formal and informal systems. The presentation will shed the light on the hidden, but heavy burden of
care associated with caregiving and seeks to identify how pathways of care can be enhanced. Family decision-making and the
navigation of patients from informal care within the domestic sphere to formal institutional care is also probed extensively in
the research. Preliminary findings indicate that while elderly with dementia are greatly remembered in Qatar by families and
several health care institutes, there still exists a need to promote social awareness of the disease in order to enhance support
for caregivers translating into enhanced quality of life for people living with dementia in Qatar and by extension, the broader
Middle East.
J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0460-C1-037