Research study aims to improve dementia assessments for diverse communities in Bristol

UWE Bristol has launched a research project aimed at transforming the assessment and diagnosis of dementia for people from three minority ethnic communities in Bristol.

People from the three communities (Chinese, Caribbean and South Asian) are at high risk of developing dementia but less likely to be diagnosed than people from white communities. In addition, they are often diagnosed at a later stage in the illness and can miss out on important treatment.

The 18-month research project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will see academics team up with community organisations representing Chinese, Caribbean and South Asian populations in Bristol. They will work to identify how community organisations can work together with the NHS to improve the current assessment process.

The three Bristol community organisations working on the project are Chinese Community Wellbeing Society, Dhek Bhal and Bristol Black Carers. Also part of the project are Bristol Health Partners’ Dementia Health Integration Team (HIT) and Bristol Dementia Wellbeing Service, a partnership between Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Professor Richard Cheston, a dementia research specialist and HIT member who is co-leading the study, said:

“We want to tackle these problems by improving the way assessment and diagnosis currently happen. First, we will help people in these three communities to recognise the symptoms of dementia and to improve their understanding of the illness.

“Second, we will work together with the NHS and GPs to enable people to either refer themselves for an assessment or for a community organisation to be able to do this for them. Local dementia clinicians will then work together with staff from the community organisations to carry out the assessment.

“Third, we will identify clear standards for assessment, diagnosis and treatment that will mean that people understand what they can ask for from services.”

According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, 982,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK. With around 18 per cent of the UK population from a minority ethnic community, researchers say it is important that dementia services are made accessible to all and that potential inequalities between communities are eliminated. In Bristol, around 230 people from Chinese, Caribbean and South Asian communities are living with dementia.

Professor Cheston, who is co-leading the research with community researcher Emily Choi from the Chinese Community Wellbeing Society, added:

“We expect that the new pathway resulting from this project will lead to more people being correctly diagnosed as having a form of dementia and that these diagnoses will take place earlier in the illness. This will mean that people have more time to adjust to it and have more treatment options open to them.

“As this is a new pathway, we want to find out what obstacles and barriers there may be in changing the assessment process in this way. We also want to know whether the staff from the NHS and from community organisations feel comfortable making the assessments and whether patients and their families feel it is an improvement.”