Ajankohtaista

Julkaistu 19.10.2022

Young family members in need of support

In Finland, we prefer to talk about young family members instead of young carers, because most of these people don’t see themselves as carers. According to Professor Saul Becker, young carers are under 18 whereas in Finland most of them are over 18.

In 2020, The Alzheimer Society of Finland and The Institute of Health and Welfare first conducted a survey, The Memory Barometer, which included questions regarding services for young onset dementia patients and their families. Monitoring the treatment of dementia and services for patients and carers in municipalities and regions, the Barometer was first conducted in 2000 and is carried out every five years.

Key insights:

• Services targeted at people with young onset dementia were rated worse than those aimed at older dementia patients
• A quarter of respondents estimated that services for minor children are insufficient. In some young onset dementia families, a child or a young person has to bear too many responsibilities of everyday life compared to their peers.
• The competence of professional staff' regarding special needs of people with young onset dementia needs to be developed significantly.
• There is still a lack of knowledge and services for young onset dementia patients and their family members in many regions.

You can watch the story of a young family member on our YouTube channel.

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