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Armenia’s National Dementia Prevention Plan

• By Newsdesk
• Armenia
• Mar 23, 2023

News

Gevorg Pashikyan, psychiatry consultant for the Ministry of Health, Kristine Galstyan, chief specialist of the Ministry of Health's public health department, and Ofelia Kamavosyan, head of the Alzheimer Care Armenia program, announced at a press conference on Monday that The National Dementia Prevention Plan will be implemented in Armenia by 2026.

Dementia, according to Gevorg Pashikyan, is a senile or pre-senile disease classified as a mental disease. Its prevalence is increasing, both in Armenia and around the world, as the population ages.

According to Kristine Galstyan, the Armenian government recently approved the 2023-2026 healthcare development strategy, which includes the National Dementia Prevention Plan.

The plan includes:

Increased visibility of the disease

According to Galstyan, it is critical for society to be able to recognize the problem, to understand that dementia is more than just an age change. In this case, families will begin to consult a doctor earlier, potentially preventing the development of deep dementia.

Increasing awareness and capacity of medical staff and family members

"Educational programs for family members should be available." These patients are difficult to manage and necessitate specialized skills. Family members may be unreasonable in their aggression toward such patients due to their ignorance and inability to communicate with them," Galstyan said.

Medical personnel must also be able to recognize the first signs of the disease and care for such patients. Primary care physicians should understand when they can manage the disease on their own and when they need to consult a specialist, such as a neurologist or a psychiatrist.

Creation of special "memory clubs"

Ofelia Kamavosyan, director of the Alzheimer Care Armenia program, announced today that a memorandum was signed with the Loft club, under which people over the age of 65 will be able to spend time there by pre-registering on Thursdays at 11 a.m. They will be able to communicate with their classmates, play educational games, drink tea and coffee, watch movies, and sing and dance. In the future, similar "memory clubs" will be established in all Loft clubs or local clinics throughout Armenia.

"The goal is to establish memory clubs where the elderly can come and develop and train cognitive abilities through exercises and communication," Kristine Galstyan explained.