SOUTH ASIAN VOICES ENABLING DEMENTIA CARE (SAVE-D): Differences in the Recognition of and Consultation for Memory Problems in South Asian Ethnic Minorities

Current government policy is to increase diagnosis rates for dementia. In the UK, South Asians constitute one of the largest, and growing, ethnicminority groups. Although members of these communities consult health care services for physical problems at similar rates, seeking help for mentalhealth problems and dementia is lower than in the indigenous population. The aim of this two year project was to explore the level of understandingabout dementia in younger and older South Asians. For this purpose, we performed a literature review; developed a new tool to capture people’sunderstanding of dementia; and tested this in a large sample of 160 South Asians in the North West of England. A special feature of this projectwas strong involvement of two local South Asian community groups in the research, including identifying and interviewing participants. Datasuggested variations in understandings of dementia (causes, symptoms, treatment and consequences) which could be differentiated by generationand whether or not the person had consulted a GP about the memory problem. Findings from this study, including the tool, have clear implicationsfor improving early diagnosis, which is the first step to accessing appropriate care and support and prioritised in the National Dementia Strategy.