Gwangju Seo-gu, Fully Committed to Dementia Patient Management Including Early Dementia Screening Project

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju (District Mayor Kim Yi-gang) is making every effort to manage dementia patients so that residents can receive practical support for dementia.

According to Seo-gu on the 11th, dementia is a disease where prevention and early diagnosis are very important, and the best approach is to treat it quickly in the early stages to slow progression or alleviate symptoms.

Accordingly, Seo-gu opened and has been operating a Dementia Safety Center since 2019 to identify high-risk groups for dementia in the community and provide quality dementia management services through appropriate service connections.

As of last year, the elderly population aged 65 and over in Seo-gu is 12.1% (886,000 people), and the estimated number of dementia patients among them is 4,414.

To identify this, Seo-gu conducts cognitive screening tests for residents not diagnosed with dementia and also carries out a ‘Visiting Dementia Early Screening Project’ at the Dong (neighborhood) Administrative Welfare Centers.

If cognitive decline is suspected based on the cognitive screening test results, residents are connected to designated dementia partner hospitals for diagnostic and differential examinations.

Also, after being diagnosed with dementia and registering at the Dementia Safety Center, patients can receive various dementia management services such as cognitive enhancement kits and care supplies support, dementia treatment management cost support, dementia patient rest centers and family support programs, public guardianship projects, distribution of missing prevention ID tags and fingerprint pre-registration, and installation of gas safety shut-off devices called ‘Timer Cock.’

Registration of dementia patients and service applications can be made by the patient or their guardian, and for more details, inquiries can be made to the Seo-gu Dementia Safety Center.

A Seo-gu official said, “As the prevalence of dementia is increasing, we will do our best to detect dementia patients early and expand management services for dementia patients and their families.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho baekok@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.