The second strategy also introduced a series of commitments that recognised people’s rights to maintain community connections and social support, to be recognised as active citizens and to live in dementia friendly communities where they would feel included and at the heart of community life. This was the first such guarantee in the world and was heavily informed by this rights-based approach. The strategy was arguably the first in the world to reflect a rights-based approach, drawing as it did on the Charter of Rights for People with Dementia and their Carers in Scotland (Scottish Government, 2009).Ī second national strategy (Scottish Government, 2013) introduced a guarantee of one year of support from a named practitioner for everyone in Scotland receiving a diagnosis of dementia. It focussed on improvement to existing care pathways, strengthening integrated approaches and improving diagnosis levels. Prioritising dementia in Scotlandīefore dementia was established as a global health priority Scotland became one of the first countries to acknowledge the need for action on dementia when the first Scottish Dementia Strategy was launched (Scottish Government, 2010). Over 90,000 people in Scotland live with dementia and this is expected to rise in coming years at a rate of 20,000 per year (Scottish Government, 2017). Indeed, the authors considered their report to be ‘a resource that will facilitate governments, policy makers and other stakeholders to address the impact of dementia’ (WHO, 2012, p7). This complex range of conditions commonly referred to as dementia has been a global health priority since 2012 and described as ‘an increasing threat to global health’.

Attachment can enhance the safety and security experienced by people living with dementia, can support them to maintain relationships, connect with their community and engage in support and care.ĭementia is an umbrella term for symptoms caused by over 100 brain conditions with Alzheimer’s Disease being the most common.

Attachment, an emotional link between two people which lasts through space and time, affects people’s ability and willingness to relate to the world around them and can be a preventative factor in managing the symptoms and effects of dementia.

Understanding attachment helps us to understand behaviours and responses to dementia.

Attachment theory, most developed and applied to the early years, has relevance to our understanding of dementia and its impact on people and their family carers.

One direction anime images