The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report entitled “Dementia in refugees and migrants: epidemiology, public health implications and global responses.” The Evidence Review on Health and Migration (GEHM) undertook a scoping review to identify and synthesise scientific and grey literature in the field in order to explore the magnitude of the challenge of dementia in refugees and migrants, to focus on the provision of care and support for these population groups and to highlight existing evidence gaps. The report notes that the number of older refugees and migrants is rapidly increasing worldwide and that these individuals face a number of specific challenges, including difficulties in the continued management of chronic conditions, challenges in providing care to other family members, as well as barriers in access to services.
Additionally, it highlights that barriers such as the low awareness of dementia in migrant population groups, limited adoption of cross-cultural cognitive assessment tools, disruptions in the continuity of care and the lack of specific training for health care professionals, which can all influence the accurate and timely detection of dementia. The condition is therefore often underdiagnosed and undertreated in this population group. The report identified knowledge gaps regarding migration and dementia, particularly on refugees and migrants living with dementia in emergency settings and in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as the available information is largely for international migrants in high-income settings. The full report is available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240102224