A global research group based at Newcastle University is building simple screening tools and care models to tackle dementia in low and middle-income countries, starting with India, Malaysia, and Tanzania. Dementia is a growing crisis worldwide, but most research and care guidelines come from wealthy nations. These tools and pathways often fail in settings with fewer specialists, different languages, and limited healthcare infrastructure. The DePEC group aims to close that gap by developing practical, non-specialist tools—such as an electronic cognitive screening app piloted in Tanzania—to identify people at high risk or with undetected dementia, and by mapping existing care pathways and workforce gaps in each partner country. If successful, the project could shift dementia care in resource-limited settings from reactive and late-stage to earlier detection and structured support. This would reduce the personal and societal burden of dementia by enabling prevention efforts and better post-diagnostic care. The group is also laying the groundwork for future intervention research, starting with a pilot platform in Malaysia, and developing transferable training initiatives to build a competent care workforce.
View original technical description
Ageing is one of Newcastle University's societal challenges focused on 'academic excellence with impact' (translation of evidence into policy and practice). Our ageing research is co-ordinated via Newcastle University Institute for Ageing (NUIA), Europe's largest such centre with 700 researchers, located on the innovative Campus for Ageing and Vitality (CAV). Newcastle's longstanding global excellence in ageing research has been recognised via: • Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (2009) • £40M (£20m from Government) for a National Innovation Centre for Ageing (PI Louise Robinson) • Regius Professorship in Ageing (2016). Our programme aim is to develop a NIHR Global Health Research Group on Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care (DePEC) to be based at CAV. The programme, delivered via a series of Workstreams (WSs), has specific objectives: WS1: Create a new Global Research Group on dementia risk reduction and improved post diagnostic care (WS1.1) to map current research and care in our partner low and middle income countries (LMICs) (WS1.2). WS2: Develop accurate and simple tools to identify individuals at high risk of developing dementia (WS2.1) and those with undetected dementia (WS2.2). WS3: Establish the foundation for dementia risk reduction research in LMICs by setting up and piloting an intervention dementia research platform in one partner site (Malaysia). WS4: Determine efficient and feasible dementia care models for LMICs (WS4.1) and transferable educational initiatives to develop a caring, competent workforce (WS4.2). WS5: Develop an impact strategy including future priorities for LMICs research, service organisation and workforce development, and a future DePEC NIHR Global Research Unit. Completion of WS1 deliverables (month 6) determined progress to full programme funding. Detail on individual WS methods is provided below. In year 1 we completed WS1 and set up our Global Health Research Group on Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care (DePEC) with partners from India, Malaysia, Tanzania and UK. DePEC aims to reduce the personal and societal burden of dementia by: i) identifying those at risk of dementia sooner ii) and developing better care pathways. WS1.1 involved an introductory workshop with all partners, and lay representatives, to launch the programme. Facilitated task groups were held for each partner country to present data on population trends in dementia; current care pathways; key dementia research to date (including public health and risk factors); and priority areas for future work. WS1.2 involved rapid reviews to map information on: i) research and knowledge gaps; ii) dementia care pathways including health prevention services if available and iii) workforce issues in terms of education and capacity. Deliverables for each partner LMIC are summaries of: i) dementia-related research and priority areas for future work/funding and workforce training and ii) current dementia care pathways and health prevention strategies, areas of need and future priorities for service improvement and workforce training. Progress to WS2.1 involved: i) a review of cognitive assessment tools used in LMICs ii) systematic reviews of the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in LMICs and risk of progression from MCI to dementia in LMICs iii) modelling using existing data from the 10/66 study and partner country data (Malaysia: South East Asian Community Observatory [SEACO] and Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research Studies [MELoR]; India: Health Action for People [HAP]; Tanzania: Hai District Demographic Surveillance Site) to develop simple models, for non-specialists to use, to identify people at high risk of future dementia in each partner LMIC. In WS2.2 an electronic cognitive screening app to act as a decision aid to help identify people with undetected dementia was developed, this was piloted in Tanzania. The app includes: cognition (IDEA cognitive screen), Ins
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know