Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, is a significant public health challenge in Europe, with nearly 14 million people currently affected. Despite available healthcare and social care services, utilisation of these services by people living with dementia remains suboptimal due to various barriers. Our recent systematic review published in BMC Geriatrics provides critical insights into these challenges, highlighting barriers across informational, organisational, cultural, stigma-related, financial, and logistical domains. Informational and Educational Barriers A lack of awareness and insufficient knowledge among caregivers and healthcare professionals stands out as a key barrier. Inadequate dissemination of dementia-related information contributes to difficulties in planning and accessing appropriate care. Enhancing educational resources and improving health literacy among caregivers and healthcare workers are essential for overcoming these challenges. Organisational Barriers F...
As we reach the fifth anniversary of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, this moment provides an opportunity for reflection on the many challenges faced by healthcare workers like me during the early days of the pandemic. At that time, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was a largely unknown entity. Clinical guidelines were still under development and personal protective equipment (PPE) was scarce. For those on the NHS frontline, the experience was marked by a mix of anxiety, urgency, and dedication to the patients we were trained to serve. Unfamiliar Territory In the initial stages, Covid-19 was a "novel" infection. There was a scarcity of data on the illness, and the disease was manifesting in ways that were not entirely well understood. As primary care physicians, we were suddenly thrust into the realm of the unknown, treating patients with undifferentiated respiratory illnesses that did not yet have well-defined and evidence-based treatment protocols. The Personal Risk Factor...