Dementia rates high in the Kimberley

A groundbreaking study has revealed incidence of dementia in older Kimberley Aboriginal people could be five times as high as non-Aboriginal Australians.

The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment was carried out five years ago by the WA Centre for Health and Ageing in partnership with the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service Council.

The tool was developed to meet the need for a cognitive screening test for older Aboriginal Australians living in remote and rural areas.

It was designed to enable medical practitioners to determine the extent of dementia or cognitive impairment.

KAMSC medical director David Atkinson said previous tests carried out among Aboriginal communities consisted of questionnaires which were “inappropriate” because many older Aboriginals did not speak English.

The assessment asks culturalbased questions such as where respondents grew up and what language they speak.

Further discussions are based around common cultural knowledge including what season it is and whether or not it is pension week.

The test also includes copying basic pictures and following simple commands.

Tests were conducted on 363 indigenous people aged 45 and over in Derby and six Kimberley Aboriginal communities.

Tests showed more than 12 per cent of Aboriginal people aged 45 and over had dementia.

Dr Atkinson said the results indicated dementia prevalence was “unexpectedly high” and “substantially higher for the Kimberley”.

Dr Atkinson said a second study was underway by researchers to get a more “holistic picture” of the health needs of the people surveyed in 2006, and also to look at the health care needs of people with cognitive impairment and dementia.

He said the second study would involve a series of projects that engaged locals in Aboriginal communities to provide support for dementia sufferers.

WACHA professor Leon Flicker said people within communities needed to be trained instead of trying to co-ordinate services outside communities.

“It’s trying to find people on the ground in those communities that can be of help and assistance and who can be trained and supported to provide that help in remote places where support is difficult to organise,” Mr Flicker said.