Dementia in the aging population of Poland: challenges for medical and social care

Abstract

With a projected rise in the percentage of elderly people in the population of Poland, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia, will increase. The aim of this paper is to present dementia as an increasing health and social problem in the aging Polish population. In 2015, the number of people with dementia of the Alzheimer's type in Poland was estimated to be between 360,000 and 470,000, which indicates a growth of almost 20% compared to 2005. The onset of dementia symptoms causes a relatively rapid impairment of patients' daily functioning, creating the need for assistance by others. In Poland, caring for an elderly person with dementia is primarily non-institutional and provided by the closest family members in a home setting. Due to the shrinking care potential of Polish families, one should expect a growing need for formal forms of support to ensure proper care for elderly individuals with dementia. At present, Poland has a poorly developed system of formal assistance for dependent elderly people and the existing infrastructure of formal care services includes only a small proportion of potential beneficiaries. The prospect of further aging of the Polish population along with the growing risk of dementia and the shrinking family care potential justify the development and implementation of a comprehensive Alzheimer's Plan at the central and local level of our country.