Rehabilitation Must Be at Heart of Dementia Care, New Report Urges
NEW YORK — Rehabilitation remains the missing link in dementia care, leaving millions of people without the support they need to live independently for longer. That is the central warning of the World Alzheimer Report issued this week by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). It comes just days before world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health.
Dementia rehabilitation is a person-centered, collaborative approach to care that enables people to maintain or rebuild everyday skills, from preparing meals and shopping to mobility, speech, hygiene, and self-care. By focusing on what matters most to the person, rehabilitation helps people remain independent, stay connected with their communities and workplaces, and reduces strain on families and health services.
“Rehabilitation is not an optional add-on; it is a right,” said Paola Barbarino, chief executive of ADI. “When you are diagnosed with cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, treatment and rehabilitation are provided as a matter of course. Why should dementia be treated differently? People living with dementia deserve the same opportunity for support and recovery as anyone facing a major health condition.”
The report presents evidence of rehabilitation’s benefits. In U.S. studies, family-focused occupational therapy has been shown to improve daily functioning and reduce caregiver burden, while goal-oriented programs helped people maintain independence. With long-term care among the most expensive in the world, delaying institutionalization by six months through rehabilitation could yield significant savings. In Canada, pilots in Ontario and British Columbia have shown how community-based rehabilitation helps people relearn daily tasks and remain active in their communities.
ADI is urging both governments to embed rehabilitation in dementia planning, ensure healthcare professionals receive training, and provide families with the tools to support loved ones. It also calls on clinicians to more readily offer rehabilitation as part of post-diagnostic care.
“Rehabilitation restores a sense of identity and purpose,” Barbarino said. “Even the smallest gains can transform lives. Too often, we hear that clinicians will tell someone newly diagnosed with dementia to ‘go home and get your end-of-life affairs in order.’ But people can live well with a diagnosis for many years with the correct support in place, and rehabilitation can facilitate this. ADI is demanding that healthcare systems proactively offer rehabilitation for dementia, as they would for any other condition like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It is time to make rehabilitation a routine part of dementia care.”