Dementia in clinical practice

摘要

This book describes how seven ethnically diverse societiesncope with the universal challenges of an ageing population.nThe Introductory chapter sets the scene of ageing populationsnin China, Hong Kong, a Special AdministrativenRegion of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysianand Thailand. This is followed by a chapter discussingnsocial policy from an academic perspective, which readersnfrom a medical background may find rather theoretical.nThen each subsequent chapter is devoted to describingnthe situation in a particular country. There are commonnthemes running throughout all these chapters: concerns regardingnadequate finances, health, and social care andnparticipation in society. Demographic changes are commonnto all: declining mortality and fertility rate resulting innincreasing numbers of old people, this change being morenrapid in China and Taiwan. Other common themes includenthe declining role of the family in caring for their elders andnincreasing reliance on the state, the tendency for economicnconsiderations to take precedence over social needs, increasingnrich–poor divide (or urban rural disparities) andnprediction of rapid increase in needs, particularly for carenof older people with dementia. This is a valuable source ofnmaterial regarding how different countries shape policies toncope with an ageing population, and the book should be ofninterest to an international readership of health and socialncare professionals, policy makers as well as elder careorientednindustries.