Yeongdeungpo District Promotes Early Dementia Screening and Family Caregiver Respite as "A Precious Gift to Preserve Memories"

Family Month: Intensive Promotion of Early Dementia Screening and Family Caregiver Respite Program
Free Brain Health Screening for Early Dementia Detection Once a Year

Yeongdeungpo District (District Mayor Choi Hogwon) announced that in celebration of Family Month in May, it will intensively promote early dementia screening and the use of the Family Caregiver Respite Program to help families preserve their precious memories.

This year, South Korea has entered a super-aged society, with the population aged 65 and older surpassing 20% of the total population. According to trends from the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s dementia epidemiology survey, the number of dementia patients is expected to increase from 970,000 this year to 1.8 million by 2040.

However, negative perceptions such as fear and stigma toward dementia remain high, and public interest in dementia safety centers is insufficient.

Because prevention and treatment are crucial for dementia, the Yeongdeungpo Dementia Safety Center provides free early dementia screening, cognitive training, and professional counseling for district residents. Early dementia screening, which takes about 15 minutes and is offered once a year, can help slow the progression of dementia and enable timely treatment.

In addition, in 2023, Yeongdeungpo District became the first local government in the country to introduce the Family Caregiver Respite Program. This program connects volunteers with households caring for seniors with dementia or other geriatric diseases, allowing family members exhausted from “solo caregiving” to take a break. Currently, over 750 members of the “Care Volunteer Group” are active, and more than half of them hold caregiver certifications.

The Care Volunteer Group visits homes in pairs and provides companionship, exercise, meals, hospital accompaniment, and cognitive training for seniors. Notably, this program is based on voluntary service, contributing to the creation of a sustainable care ecosystem and the spread of a community culture.

Mr. Jeong (77), a senior with mild dementia, said, “I look forward to the time the volunteer group visits every day. I get to learn, sing, and go for walks, which makes me very happy. I always felt sorry that my son couldn’t go out because of me, but after the volunteer group started coming, he was able to find a job.”

Yeongdeungpo District has produced a video titled “A Precious Gift to Preserve Memories,” expressing the hope that families will cherish peaceful daily memories for a long time. The district is intensively promoting early dementia screening and the Family Caregiver Respite Program. The campaign emphasizes that early dementia screening is the best gift for parents, while respite for family caregivers is the most needed gift for caregiving families. In particular, actor Hyun Woo participated as a son in the dementia screening promotional video as a talent donation.

The district plans to actively promote these initiatives through various channels, including the video, posters, card news, welfare facilities, the district newsletter, social media, and media boards in apartment elevators.

By searching “A Precious Gift to Protect the Family” and “A Gift for Myself, Rest” on YouTube, viewers can watch videos about Yeongdeungpo District’s early dementia screening and Family Caregiver Respite Program.

Choi Hogwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, stated, “We hope this campaign will provide practical help in preserving precious memories for both seniors and caregiving families, and we look forward to the expansion of volunteer-based care ecosystems like the Care Volunteer Group.”