Rehabilitation services for young-onset dementias: examples from high and low-middle-income countries

Aida Suárez-González, Sharon A. Savage, Suvarna Alladi, Viviane Amaral-Carvalho, Faheem Arshad, Julieta Camino, Paulo Caramelli, Adelina Comas-Herrera, Julia Cook, Claudia Cooper, Laura García Díaz, Stephanie M. Grasso, Regina Jokel, Monica Lavoie, Tomás León, Thomas Priya, Teresita Ramos Franco, Cathleen Taylor-Rubin, Rosemary Townsend, Angelika Thöne-OttoAndrea Slachevsky, Anna Volkmer, Wendy Weidner, Claire M. O'Connor

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Abstract

The WHO Dementia Global Action Plan states that rehabilitation services for dementia are required to promote health, reduce disability, and maintain quality of life for those living with dementia. Current services, however, are scarce, particularly for people with young-onset dementia (YOD). This article, written by an international group of multidisciplinary dementia specialists, offers a three-part overview to promote the development of rehabilitation services for YOD. Firstly, we provide a synthesis of knowledge on current evidence-based rehabilitative therapies for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD), behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). Secondly, we discuss the characteristics of rehabilitation services for YOD, providing examples across three continents for how these services can be embedded in existing settings and the different roles of the rehabilitation multidisciplinary team. Lastly, we conclude by highlighting the potential of telehealth in making rehabilitation services more accessible for people with YOD. Overall, with this paper, we aim to encourage clinical leads to begin introducing at least some rehabilitation into their services, leveraging existing resources and finding support in the collective expertise of the broader multidisciplinary dementia professional community.
Original languageEnglish
Article number790
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume21
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jun 2024

Keywords

  • Alzheimer
  • frontotemporal dementia
  • posterior cortical atrophy
  • primary progressive aphasia
  • rehabilitation
  • young-onset dementia

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