Chapter 3: Ethnic and Racial Diversity of People Affected by Dementia
Learn more about Chapter 3 of the second volume of the Landmark Study, the Many Faces of Dementia in Canada, a report by the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
Variation exists in dementia risk and dementia care across different ethnocultural and ethno-racial communities in Canada.
Canada is considered one of the most multicultural countries in the world. In the 2016 Canadian census, over 250 different ethnic origins were recorded as part of the Canadian demographic landscape. This diversity is now widely considered a fundamental Canadian value and is largely the result of several waves of immigration over the past 50 years.
An aging multicultural population
Prior to 1970, newcomers to Canada arrived mainly from European countries or the United States. However, because of significant changes to Canadian immigration policies, the major places from which people migrated changed in the 1970s. These changing immigration patterns, shifting away from European countries toward countries from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, have resulted in a Canadian population that is more ethnically, racially, linguistically and culturally diverse.
With an aging population in Canada, we are now witnessing a rapidly growing number of older adults from a wide range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. With age as the strongest risk factor for dementia, this diversity in older Canadians is also reflected within the population of people living with dementia in Canada.
Over the next 30 years, we can expect even further changes to the ethnic and racial makeup of people living with dementia in Canada. Consequently, care services for people living with dementia need to be designed to meet the diverse needs of these populations. Canada’s national dementia strategy emphasizes the need for increased understanding and expanded data on health-related issues in ethnic and cultural minority communities in order to assist efforts in dementia risk reduction.
This chapter will highlight some of the experiences of individuals living with dementia across different ethnic and racial groups in Canada. This is a complex, deep area of work that deserves a dedicated, fulsome review. Our report will only cover the initial framework relevant to the estimations and projections from the Landmark Study model with a deeper review planned for the future.
Read this chapter here.
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