About this Research Topic
As the population across the globe grows and ages, neurocognitive disorders are estimated to surge in the next decades, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The term “neurocognitive disorders” refers to dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and it covers all four pillars of symptoms that the phenotype of neurocognitive disorders can encompass: cognitive deficits, neuropsychiatric symptoms, impaired performance in activities of daily living, and neurological symptoms. Understanding the risk factors of neurocognitive disorders is important for designing prevention strategies. The timely diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders is crucial for initiating the necessary pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions, so that symptoms are adequately treated, and the impact of the disorders on the quality of life of both people with neurocognitive disorders and their care partners and families is mitigated.
The rapidly increasing numbers of people with neurocognitive disorders render radical changes in the current paradigm of conventional care services for neurocognitive disorders inevitable. Services for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment are mainly restricted to secondary or tertiary healthcare in high-income countries, while in LMICs they are often scarce. Community services that are adjusted to local contexts and meet the local healthcare needs of people living with neurocognitive disorders may pave the way towards closing the gap between the steadily growing community needs and available care services for those people, and may prove to be an impact player in combating inequities in the care of neurocognitive disorders across the globe.
This Research Topic will offer an overview not only of the unmet healthcare needs of older people with neurocognitive disorders living in LMICs or remote communities of high-income countries, but also of operating, innovative community services for people with dementia or MCI who live in parts of the world with marginal or no access to conventional services related to neurocognitive disorders.
We welcome the submission of any type of manuscript supported by the journal (including Original Research, Review, etc.) pertaining but not limited to the following themes:
- unmet needs of people with neurocognitive disorders living in communities far away from or without access to services related to dementia and/or MCI
- implementation of policies intending to close the gap between needs and available services
- good practices and services for preventing, diagnosing, treating, and managing dementia/MCI in the community and at the primary healthcare level, which could serve as models to be transferred after the necessary adaptations to variable local contexts
- diagnosis and management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of neurocognitive disorders in LMICs
- community services focusing on non-pharmacological interventions in LMICs
- qualitative reports on community services related to neurocognitive disorders
- case reports shedding light on differences in lived experiences of people with dementia and their care partners around the world
- dementia and brain health in medical and non-medical education curricula in LMICs
- dementia awareness and friendliness in communities in different countries
The rapidly increasing numbers of people with neurocognitive disorders render radical changes in the current paradigm of conventional care services for neurocognitive disorders inevitable. Services for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment are mainly restricted to secondary or tertiary healthcare in high-income countries, while in LMICs they are often scarce. Community services that are adjusted to local contexts and meet the local healthcare needs of people living with neurocognitive disorders may pave the way towards closing the gap between the steadily growing community needs and available care services for those people, and may prove to be an impact player in combating inequities in the care of neurocognitive disorders across the globe.
This Research Topic will offer an overview not only of the unmet healthcare needs of older people with neurocognitive disorders living in LMICs or remote communities of high-income countries, but also of operating, innovative community services for people with dementia or MCI who live in parts of the world with marginal or no access to conventional services related to neurocognitive disorders.
We welcome the submission of any type of manuscript supported by the journal (including Original Research, Review, etc.) pertaining but not limited to the following themes:
- unmet needs of people with neurocognitive disorders living in communities far away from or without access to services related to dementia and/or MCI
- implementation of policies intending to close the gap between needs and available services
- good practices and services for preventing, diagnosing, treating, and managing dementia/MCI in the community and at the primary healthcare level, which could serve as models to be transferred after the necessary adaptations to variable local contexts
- diagnosis and management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of neurocognitive disorders in LMICs
- community services focusing on non-pharmacological interventions in LMICs
- qualitative reports on community services related to neurocognitive disorders
- case reports shedding light on differences in lived experiences of people with dementia and their care partners around the world
- dementia and brain health in medical and non-medical education curricula in LMICs
- dementia awareness and friendliness in communities in different countries
Keywords: dementia, mild cognitive impairment, primary health care, low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), dementia care inequity, awareness raising, healthcare professionals training
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
