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This article provides tips from Community Care Inform Adults’ guide on dementia and adults from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. The updated guide promotes a person-centred approach to supporting individuals, but within a cultural context. It outlines important issues to consider that may explain why people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities tend to present to services later than do white British people, and more often in a crisis. Inform Adults subscribers can access the full content here.
The number of people with dementia from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK is growing rapidly. According to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia (2013), there were 25,000 people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups with dementia in England and Wales. This number is expected to double to 50,000 by 2026 and rise to over 172,000 by 2051.
Contributing factors include the ageing of those who migrated to the UK in the decades immediately after the second world war; increasing awareness and willingness to seek diagnosis; and the possible higher risk of developing dementia due to higher levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in certain black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (Alzheimer’s Research UK, 2019).
In 2024, the Office of Health Economics published an evidence review of inequalities in dementia, finding high quality evidence that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups living with dementia are less likely to have access to timely diagnosis, present later for assessment, have a lower diagnosis rate and are less likely to access support services than the white British population (Hodgson et al, 2024).
The full Community Care Inform Adults guide promotes a person-centred approach to supporting individuals, while encouraging practitioners to work in a culturally competent way, and presents the following tips for practice.
Practice tips
- Treat everyone as an individual by applying a person-centred approach to supporting people with dementia and their families.
- Understand different socio-economic barriers that individuals may face when accessing care.
- Work in a culturally competent way – be open and respectful.
- Know your local area and who should be accessing your service – record self-ascribed ethnicity.
- Make links with local community groups in order to promote dementia awareness, develop partnership working and learn about how they view dementia as a condition.
- If services are refused, do not assume ‘they look after their own’. Explore whether the services are meeting cultural needs adequately – maybe an aspect of the provision can be changed or adapted?
- Include cultural issues within assessments.
- Take account of practical needs, including meals, personal care preferences and religious and end-of-life practices.
- Recognise faith communities as a vital part of the wider support network.
- Promote effective communication – access interpreters where needed.
- Use translated written materials, but with caution.
- Provide services in different languages.
- Ensure culturally appropriate resources are available and used, for example, during reminiscence groups.
- Pay attention to how support for carers is marketed to ensure people who may not relate to the term “carer” can access them.
References
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia (2013)
Dementia does not discriminate: the experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
Alzheimer’s Research UK (2019)
Reducing your risk of dementia
Hodgson, S; Hayes, H; Cubi-Molla, P and Garau, M (2024)
Evidence Review in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Inequalities in Dementia: Unveiling the Evidence and Forging a Path Towards Greater Understanding
Office of Health Economics
If you have a Community Care Inform Adults licence, log in to access the full guide. The guide forms part of Inform Adults’ dementia knowledge and practice hub.
