(l-r) Zaffer Khan from One Voice, Dr Pervez Muzaffar and Dominic Harrison, Director of Public Health from Blackburn with Darwen Council
Published Tuesday 17 October 2017 at 11:22
Community group One Voice have launched a Delay Dementia leaflet.
The initiative is part of phase 5 of the award winning Baiter Sehat project, which is in partnership with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.
The aim of the project is to deliver both community education initiatives and integrate information into existing health promotion activity in the local BME community.
During Phase 4, focus groups revealed issues people wanted to highlight were how to delay or prevent dementia.
One Voice have worked with local GP Dr Pervez Muzaffar to explore this alongside Age UK Blackburn with Darwen.
The concept to create a Delay Dementia leaflet was initiated by Brookhouse Development Group. The leaflet gives comprehensive advise on how to stay fit physically and mentally.
The 5000 leaflets will be distributed to health centres, GP surgeries, local community centres and local businesses.
850,000 are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK according to a report produced by King’s College London and the London School of Economics for the Alzheimer’s Society.
A person’s risk of developing dementia rises from 1 in 14 over the age of 65, to one in six over the age of 80.
The number of people with dementia in the UK is expected to grow rapidly over the next several decades. As age is the biggest risk factor for dementia, increasing life expectancy is the driving force behind this projected rise.
Sadia Rafiq, Baiter Sehat Lead, said:
The leaflets are a very proactive approach to dementia. Statistics show that a third of dementia cases could be avoided by individuals taking care of themselves and tackling things like exercise, diet and staying fit mentally. These long-term changes can be implemented gradually and effectively.