Support for Dementia Patients Provided by Community Comprehensive Support Centers in Collaboration with Local Residents in Urban Areas with Rapidly-Growing Aging Populations

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the status and challenges of initiatives to identify early stages dementia in the elderly people living in urban areas with rapidly-growing aging populations, with a specific focus on community comprehensive support centers responsible for such areas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six centers that consented to the purpose of the research. From the verbatim transcripts of the interviews, three main categories were identified: center-related factors that hinder the early detection of elderly people with dementia, local resident-related factors that hinder the early detection of elderly people with dementia, and factors that promote collaboration with local residents. Community comprehensive support center staff was aware of the unique issues facing urban areas, where many elderly single people live alone with fewer social ties than in other areas, which makes it difficult to detect elderly people with dementia. The study confirmed that by collaborating with local residents, such as staff from local shopping arcades and companies/organizations that deliver goods/collect payments, centers are finding new forms of social interaction to replace more traditional social ties in order to solve this issue.