Dr. Salman Al Jerdi
Doha: Qatar was prompt to set a comprehensive plan to protect people with dementia during COVID-19 and it helped safeguard this vulnerable group of the society, according to experts at Qatar Foundation (QF).
While the death rate of people with dementia accounted for a large percentage of all COVID-19 related deaths in the US, UK and several European countries, Qatar has reported a very low mortality rate.
According to QF’s WISH Research Lead on Dementia, Faras Almeer, in light of the current pandemic, Qatar has been a particularly reflexive example compared to its global contemporaries.
Almeer highlighted about the launch of Raha, the National Alzheimer’s and Memory Services Helpline and COVID-19 specific public healthcare strategies aimed towards the elderly.
“While majority of countries are still behind projected UN targets for developing national healthcare strategies for dementia, Qatar has demonstrated its willingness to prioritise this category of diseases at the national level. Even before the launch of the Qatar National Dementia Plan in 2018, Qatar had already joined the Global Dementia Observatory and formed a National Stakeholder’s Group by that point,” Almeer told The Peninsula.
“However, Qatar is in a unique position of being a very small country with a centralized bureaucratic infrastructure, which bolsters its ability to respond swiftly to public health crises. Other countries will not be set up in the same way. Empowering community-based care is one way to address the gaps and vulnerabilities experienced by people with dementia and their caregivers,” he added.
Dementia is one of the more significant causes of dependence and disability in older people worldwide, affecting as many 50 million people, yet it has a history of being overshadowed by other diseases.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, people with dementia accounted for a quarter of all COVID-19-related deaths in England and Wales, and three-quarters of all deaths in care facilities globally, data shows. The US has witnessed a similar surge during the pandemic, with persons affected by Alzheimer’s disease showing a 20% increase in mortality since February.
“The findings in the studies about the number of patients with pre-existing dementia dying from COVID-19 are alarming. Although it is unlikely that dementia directly results in an increased susceptibility to the virus, it is factors associated with the diagnosis that are quite concerning,” said Alumnus and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Weil Cornell Medicine Qatar of QF, Dr. Salman Al Jerdi.
“People with dementia are more likely to be older, be living in nursing homes, and have multiple other medical problems. They may be less able to recognize or express the earlier and potentially milder symptoms of the viral infection,” he said.
According to Dr. Al Jerdi, it is unfortunate but true that when healthcare resources are scarce, more aggressive care is likely to be offered to younger healthier patients, or to those that do not suffer from dementia.
He lauded the efforts taken by Qatar to protect and care people with dementia and support their caregivers. “According to Medical Director of Qatar Rehabilitation Institute and National Health Strategy lead for Healthy Aging, Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, about 70% of Qatar Dementia Plan has already been completed, bringing Qatar much closer to achieving this ambitious project,” said Dr. Jerdi.
