Accessing dementia services

There is evidence that culturally diverse people with dementia access services at a later stage than European populations, when they may find it harder to set out their preferences for their current and future care needs (Mukadam et al., 2011; Sayegh & Knight, 2013). Additionally, many CALD families may not know about the dementia services available.

CALD people with dementia and their carers need support aimed at improving access to early diagnosis services. This will help them make greater use of early intervention dementia services and support them in planning their future care.

CALD carers have highlighted the need for respite and advocacy services. Day care may be more acceptable than other types of respite, such as home-based respite or short stays in residential aged care homes.

Please note the CALD Guidelines for Demential Patients in Aged Residential Care (Peri & Cheung (2016), could be used in conjunction with the CALD Older People resource for health providers working with Asian, Middle Eastern and African People. The guidelines can be downloaded here.<File missing>