January 16, 2017
Dementia study looking for questions
Work has started on a three-year research project aimed at finding out about the Maori experience of dementia.
University of Auckland clinical psychology lecturer Margaret Dudley from Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu has modeled the $1 million project on Australian research that developed successful indigenous cognitive assessment tools by working with Aboriginal communities.
She says some Maori may have been misdiagnosed as having dementia because of the type of questions they were asked.
In 2011, 1928 Maori were estimated to have had dementia which is expected to increase to 4493 by 2026.
As Maori life expectancy increases, the prevalence of dementia for Maori will also increase.
Dr Dudley says there has been little research on the topic, and her project aims to improve existing approaches to the assessment and management of dementia for Maori.
She says it’s important the research is led by Maori, but there will also be input from non-Maori neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, and GPs on the scientific aspects for developing diagnosis tools.
In 2013 Dr Dudley was awarded a three-year Health Research Council post-doctoral fellowship to study cognitive testing with Maori.
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