Dementia: beyond multi-morbidity

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential of public health perspectives to “come to the aid” of dementia research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on research and policy papers.

Findings

This paper outlines some potential preventive interventions, focussing particularly on life-course phenomena like child poverty, diet and pollution, on the biological mechanisms that enable psychosocial interventions, and on the status of dementia as a syndemic disorder.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents the opinions of the authors alone. It is based on recent research evidence and the authors’ experiences of dementia research, education and services. The implications for social scientists and for dementia research funders are contained in discussion of the need for research on prevention and social support for people with dementia and their families. While the evidence to guide primary prevention using psychosocial methods is less secure, the paper outlines a large secondary prevention research agenda in dementia.

Practical implications

Methodological approaches that facilitate harmonisation, pooling and comparison of data, are needed. In practical terms the paper argues that there is a need to know if and how psychosocial interventions work, and improve quality of life or even influence harder outcomes.

Originality/value

Few papers have considered the implications of a public health approach to dementia other than taking an epidemiological approach and focusing on the problems of dementia and rising numbers. This paper argues that a wider view of public health may be of particular relevance to dementia syndrome.

Citation

Iliffe, S. and Manthorpe, J. (2017), "Dementia: beyond multi-morbidity", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 172-179. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-05-2017-0019