Dr. Noa Bergman explains what causes Alzheimer's, is there a way to prevent the disease, and how to treat someone who is already ill (Walla system!)
More than 100,000 people in Israel suffer from dementia - and the recommendations made in the national plan to deal with the disease have only been implemented to a limited extent.
This is how it appears today (Monday) from the report of the Knesset's Research and Information Center for 2022.
In Israel there are 106,665 patients with dementia, including 14,546 who were diagnosed in 2021, according to the data of the health insurance funds.
As part of the national plan to deal with Alzheimer's and other dementias, published in 2013, eight key areas were identified in which to focus in order to deal with the disease: raising public awareness of the disease and preventing the stigma associated with it;
promoting the preparation of health services in the community;
promoting the organization of welfare services in the community;
Development of effective solutions for direct support to caring family members;
Adapting the system of long-term nursing hospitalization services to actual needs;
coordination in the array of services intended for patients and their families;
Development and expansion of the personnel training system in the community and in the hospital;
Research and development in the field of dementia.
However, the program's recommendations did not include reference to dedicated budgeting and budgetary sources.
The report shows that a decade after the announcement of the national plan, it is difficult to accurately state the degree of implementation of the recommendations.
"More than 200 thousand families pay the price" (Photo: ShutterStock)
Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder, which impairs cognitive function and does not result from natural aging processes.
It usually affects people over the age of 65, but it can also develop in younger people.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 55 million people worldwide have dementia, and due to the increase in the aging of the population in most countries, their number is expected to increase to 78 million by the year 2030. The estimated cost of the disease to the global economy in 2019 is 1.3 trillion dollars, the expected cost to grow to 2.8 trillion dollars by the year 2030. According to OECD estimates, in 2021 Israel had 11 dementia patients per 1,000 people - a relatively low rate for the organization's member countries, as Israel was ranked 33rd among the 38 member countries.
Dr. Nati Blum, CEO of the "Amda" association for Alzheimer's patients, lamented that "a decade after the launch of the national program, most of its recommendations were not implemented on the ground, and the price for this is paid by over 200,000 families, assuming that the number of patients identified by the Ministry of Health is partial most and does not include many who are not diagnosed".
She emphasized, "The goals of the national plan and its recommendations will help the representatives of the Ministry of Health and Welfare to focus their efforts on the strategic planning of a budgeted work plan for the coming years in order to achieve the many significant milestones that have not yet been achieved."
The initiator of the report, former MK Etti Chava Atia of the Likud, who served in the 24th Knesset as the chairman of the lobby for the geriatric nursing population, stated that "due to the increase in the aging of the population, practical responsibility is required of all the relevant professional bodies and government ministries in the fields of health and welfare in order to to lead optimal and appropriate care for dementia patients."
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