Is Canada prepared for rising rates of Dementia Two reports

 Dementia in Canada: Summary from a report by the  Canadian Institute for Health Information. Better data. Better decisions. Healthier Canadians reflect the first report

The number of people living with dementia continues to rise. This increase is due to growth in Canada’s senior population, which is expected to rise 68% over the next 20 years. This rise will result in demands on Canada’s health care systems.

Caring for seniors with dementia presents many complex issues and challenges, which differ as the disease progresses:

• Since most seniors with dementia reside in the community, primary care doctors and unpaid caregivers need proper support to help them manage dementia care.
• In long-term care, seniors with dementia continue to experience increased use of restraints and potentially inappropriate antipsychotics, despite a policy focus that is helping to improve the trends.
• Seniors with dementia are hospitalized more frequently and for a longer time. Their longer hospital stays make them more susceptible to hospital harm, including urinary tract infections, pneumonia and falls.

This report uses data and information from a number of sources to highlight dementia’s impact on Canada’s health systems and on family members or others who provide care at home. It’s also a part of CIHI’s larger commitment to focus on issues related to seniors and aging in order to help those who make decisions about healthcare planning for future needs. The report explores access to and use of health services such as home care, long-term care or nursing homes, emergency departments, hospitals and end-of-life care. It also examines young-onset dementia, family doctor preparedness, and prevention and treatment.

Key findings

• About 1 in 4 seniors age 85+ have been diagnosed with dementia
  The population of Canadians aged 65 and older is increasing; as a result, so is the number of people living with dementia.

The prevalence of dementia more than doubles every 5 years for Canadians aged 65 and older, from less than 1% for those aged 65 to 69 to about 25% for those 85 and older. Dementia is more prevalent among women than men, and the gap increases with age.

Go to How dementia impacts Canadians  

• Seniors with dementia who live at home require support to do so comfortably
  About 261,000 seniors with dementia in Canada live outside of publicly funded long-term care or nursing homes. A larger proportion of these seniors have a severe cognitive impairment, exhibit responsive behaviours and show signs of depression than other seniors.

Go to Dementia in-home and community care  

• Use of antipsychotics and restraints declining for seniors with dementia in long-term care
  In 2015–2016, more than two-thirds of residents in long-term care or nursing homes had dementia. These residents have a higher risk of being given antipsychotics without a diagnosis of psychosis and of being restrained compared with other residents. Policy changes and educational support in this area have led to improvements in many jurisdictions that submit data to CIHI.

Go to Dementia in long-term care  

• Seniors with dementia wait longer in emergency departments, are more likely to be admitted and more prone to harm
  Because patients with dementia need complex care, they stay longer in emergency departments, have higher hospitalization rates and have longer hospital stays than other seniors. Longer stays contribute to the fact that 1.5 times as many seniors with dementia experience hospital harm as those without.

Go to Dementia in hospitals  

• Canadians diagnosed with dementia before age 65 face unique challenges
  Regardless of the type of care received, the proportion of Canadians with young-onset dementia is approximately 3%. Many of these people have rarer genetic forms of the disease. Canadians with young-onset dementia may face more stigma related to the disease and have unique challenges because they are likely still working.

Go to Young-onset dementia  

• Family doctors in Canada feel less prepared than those in other countries to manage care for seniors with dementia
  Caring for seniors with dementia can be complex. Data from the 2015 Commonwealth Fund Survey of Family Physicians shows that only 41% of Canadian doctors feel properly prepared to care for these patients. The survey, which includes international comparisons, found that doctors in countries with national dementia strategies feel the most prepared to care for and to manage care for seniors with dementia.

Go to the Family doctor preparedness  

• Rates of injuries from falls are higher for seniors who have dementia and who live in lower-income neighbourhoods
  While all seniors are susceptible to falls, hospitalization rates are 23% higher for seniors with dementia in lower-income neighbourhoods than in more affluent areas. The analysis looks at hospitalizations related to falls by 5 income levels.

Go to Dementia and falls  

• Seniors with a dementia diagnosis are less likely to receive end-of-life care
  Seniors with dementia have a higher mortality rate than other seniors but are less likely to be referred for palliative and/or end-of-life care, which includes proper pain medications and hospice care.

Go to Palliative and end-of-life care  

• Higher distress, and longer hours reported by unpaid caregivers
  Unpaid caregivers of seniors with dementia spend more time caregiving and face higher levels of distress than those caring for other seniors. CIHI data shows that unpaid caregivers of seniors with dementia spend an average of 26 hours a week caring for their loved ones, compared with 17 hours for caregivers of other seniors.

Of greater concern, almost twice as many caregivers of seniors with dementia exhibit symptoms of distress, such as anger, depression or feeling unable to continue (45% versus 26%).

This section of the report also includes the stories of 2 caregivers who spoke to us about the challenges they face in their role.

Go to Unpaid caregiver challenges and supports  

On June 17, 2019, Canada became the 30th country to launch a national dementia strategy. With the passing of Bill C-233, An Act respecting a national strategy for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, the government of Canada is working to address the scale, impact and cost of dementia. The information and data included in this report are intended to support decision-making around the issues in dementia care that are important for people living with this illness, their caregivers and their healthcare providers.

Canada unprepared for rising rates of Dementia two reports

A report from CanAge asks the following questions:

Why does Canada, one of the wealthiest, most stable countries in the world, with universal healthcare and a social safety net, fail so profoundly in dementia care? We have a National Dementia Strategy. But where are we in our progress toward implementing that strategy?

They go on and say:

At CanAge, we wanted to get answers. We wanted to find out where Canada is on the path to making this country dementia inclusive. We wanted answers for the individuals, caregivers and social service sector workers who are increasingly raising their voices in desperation.

This report, the first of its kind in Canada, benchmarks the progress made in each province and territory to prepare for the rapidly growing rate of dementia the data show is looming on the horizon. It also looks at our National Dementia Strategy, and the role the federal government has to play in stewarding, and funding, a collaborative approach to this important work across the country.

Canada is falling behind in the global race to deal with the increasingly complex needs of a rapidly aging population–the latest census data shows people 85 and older are now one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country (861,395 people in 2021). 7,021,430 Canadians are over 65. Given that the risk of dementia doubles at age 85 (to 25%), the window of opportunity to get ahead of an inevitable healthcare crisis is growing alarmingly slim.

CanAge’s new report, Dementia in Canada: Cross Country Report 2022, benchmarks each province and territory’s progress toward providing care for Canadians living with dementia. Key findings in the report include:

1. By 2050, 1 in 6 persons globally will be over the age of 65 But in Canada, we’re already at 1 in 6 in most provinces, and in some provinces, the numbers were closer to one in four.

2. In 2020 in Canada there were: 6,491,030 children, 17 or younger, and there were 2,300 paediatricians, or 1 paediatrician for every 2,822 children. In that same year, there were 6,835,866 seniors, 65+, and only 327 geriatricians, or 1 geriatrician for every 20,905 seniors - an almost 10-fold difference!

3. Many provinces do not have a clear dementia strategy, action plans, or care pathways for those living with dementia. “There’s a common misconception that dementia is an “old people problem”, but that’s actually not true,” notes Tamblyn Watts. “Dementia is not a part of aging. In fact, 3% of dementia cases occur in someone younger than 65. The truth is that the dementia boom is coming whether we’re ready or not. And, judging by the current state, we’re simply not ready.” The full report is available for download on the CanAge website.

Virtual Tours

We are travelling again, and I hear horror stories of waits in line, and missed or delayed planes. It seems the travel industry is having trouble keeping up with or meeting the pent-up demand. While travel came to a near standstill during the coronavirus pandemic, technology stepped in and allowed a person to visit almost any place on the planet in the blink of an eye. So, as we move back to travel and as prices skyrocket, there is an option that technology offered during the pandemic that is still available.  Virtual tours can help decrease isolation, and remove stress, improve your mood and your mental health, well-being, and memory. They allow us to revisit places we want to go back to or find new places to engage our imagination.

In 2021, according to Google Keyword Planner data, searches for the term “virtual tour” increased seven times—from 1,300 in February to almost 10,000 in March. Do you like to travel but find it too expensive or your health does not allow you to take the trips you want to take? You may have heard of virtual tours. One of the virtual tours that I use is called Heygo and it is here https://www.heygo.com/home  Another site that offers interesting tours is https://beeyonder.com/ and finally, Team building is another site that offers tours. Here is  their list of 69 top tours 

 https://teambuilding.com/blog/virtual-tours

A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of videos or still images. It may also use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text. It is distinguished from the use of live television to affect tele-tourism. 

Most virtual tours are not free, but they are cheaper than the actual travel costs. The guides are excellent and give value to the money you pay. Heygo runs its tours on a tip-supported basis to make them as accessible as possible. They are free to join, but you have the option to leave a tip during the tour. The majority of your tip goes directly to support the creator, while the rest helps Heygo continue to build a place that brings the world closer together. 

Do a search for the best virtual tours and you will come across tours such as the following all of which you can have from the comfort of your couch.

The Louvre

San Diego Zoo

Disney World: 

Great Wall of China: 

Guggenheim: 

Google Arts Project: Street Art

Here is a sampling of some of the tours that Heygo is offering in December in their Seasonal and Special category

Thu 15 Dec

Christmas Season in Perugia · Italy

Spectacular Illumination Park- Budapest’s Newest Winter Attraction Budapest · Hungary

Jack the Ripper & Victorian Times  London · United Kingdom

The Southwark Wife Poisoner London · United Kingdom

Fri 16 Dec

Gods of India  Delhi · India

Sat 17 Dec

Festival of Lights - Midosuji Illumination Osaka · Japan

Brighton’s Christmas Beach Hut Fun Brighton · United Kingdom

Christmas in Spain 🇪🇸: Valencia’s Christmas Market Valencia · Spain

Celebrate Christmas in London (Part 1) Somerset House · United Kingdom

Christmas Walk in Norwich feat. Tunnel of Light Norwich · United Kingdom

Festive lights at the Botanicas, Edinburgh · United Kingdom

Two Vienna Christmas Markets, Austria (Virtual Recap) Vienna · Austria

German Christmas Lights and Decorations Trier · Germany

Kelsey’s Christmas Opera Concert North Pole · Norway

A Cool Carnaby Christmas! Carnaby Street · United Kingdom

Mark Twain never said...

 I thought this post in Inspiring Quotes was interesting. It was written by Jennifer Billock, a writer, traveller, witch, and unapologetic Chicagoan.

Samuel Clemens — nom de plume Mark Twain — was a font of quotable sayings, covering everything from the afterlife to adventure. His quotes are often funny, regularly sarcastic, and sometimes inspiring.

Though best known for his humour, Twain’s quips have been known to move people to action, to push them forward on an enlightening course. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” wrote Twain, adding with typical curmudgeonly wit, “and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

Over a century after his death, the author remains one of the most widely quoted people. His maxims proliferate, pulled from everywhere: his books, his speeches, his autobiography, and interviews with newspapers and magazines. And sometimes, they’re even pulled from other people.

In fact, the beloved Huckleberry Finn scribe is one of the most misquoted folks in American history, with purported Twain-isms disputed and fact-checked on a regular basis. The 13 quotes below are not Twain’s, but they’re attributed to him so often that the origin gets muddied. Here, we give credit where credit is due — something that Twain himself, a one-time journalist and constant truth-teller, would likely have appreciated.

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.– Written by satirist Jonathan Swift in 1710

Never let schooling interfere with your education.– Coined by the novelist and essayist Grant Allen in 1894

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. – Written in the 1990 book "P. S. I Love You" by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. and credited to his mother, Sarah Frances Brown

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.– Attributed to an anonymous government researcher in 1968

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.– Origin unknown

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. – Anonymous

I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time. – Written by French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal in 1656

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. – Origin is unknown

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. – Said in some form by actor James Quin in the 1700s

Golf is a good walk spoiled. – Likely originally said in some form by an unknown couple called “the Allen’s,” friends of author H. S. Scrivener, in a conversation about lawn tennis in 1903

Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is. – Written by journalist Frank Scully in 1950

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. – A version was credited to Berlin doctor Markus Herz in 1912

Don't believe the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. – Attributed to humorist Robert J. Burdette in 1883

If you ever come across a Mark Twain quote that you suspect might not be accurate, look it up on the website Twain Quotes. The database was compiled by Barbara Schmidt, a 2017 Mark Twain Journal Legacy Scholar and author at the Center for Mark Twain Studies. Because, as Mark Twain didn’t actually say (though the anonymous quote is often attributed to him), “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”