Inequitable Access to Dementia Diagnosis and Care in Low-Resource Settings – A Global Perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Availability and access to community-based services for people with dementia and their care partners, health and social care facilities and access to medication by country World Bank income classification.

For people with dementia
	HICs (N=34)				LMICs (N=27)
Service availability	Available		Accessible in rural areas		Available		Accessible in rural areas
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Diagnostic services	30	88	23	67	17	63	7	26
Assessment and management of BPSD	30	88	20	59	19	70	6	22
Psychosocial services and rehabilitation	28	82	21	62	19	70	3	11
ADL support	29	85	24	71	17	63	7	26
Palliative/end-of-life care	26	76	19	56	13	48	4	15
Social/financial protection benefits	30	88	29	85	14	52	13	48
Health and social care facilities	Available		% not able to report on		Available		% not able to report on
	n	%	beds/ places	usage	n	%	beds/ places	usage
Outpatient health care centres	33	97	---	53-68*	24	89	---	78-96*
Long-term care facilities	31	91	29		19	70	77
Adult day care centres	32	94	62		18	67	73
Hospice centres	25	74	68		12	44	81
Anti-dementia medications	Available		Fully/partially reimbursed for on-label use		Available		Fully/partially reimbursed for on-label use
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Any drug approved by regulatory authorities	33	97	30	88	21	78	12	44
Generic version available	29	85	---	---	16	59	---	---
For caregivers of people with dementia
Service availability	Available		Accessible in rural areas		Available		Accessible in rural areas
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Caregiver training	27	79	21	62	12	44	2	7
Psychosocial support	28	82	23	68	12	44	9	33
Respite services	26	76	21	62	9	33	1	4
Legal information	26	76	22	65	10	37	2	7
Financial/social protection benefits	28	82	27	79	4	15	2	7

Legend: ADL = activities of daily living; BPSD = behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; HICs = high-income countries; LMICs = low- and middle-income countries; MS = Member States; n/N = sample size.

*Based on dementia hospital admissions and estimated number of people with dementia living in long-term care facilities.

§ Although 62 countries submitted data to the GDO, one country does not have a World Bank classification for the reference year 2019, and for this reason their responses were not included in analyses disaggregated by income-levels.

# For the purpose of GDO reporting, accessibility in rural areas is defined as accessibility outside a country’s capital and major cities.