Dementia Risk, Reduction and Prevention for Medical Doctors

This session looks at how behaviour in adult life may link with risks of developing certain types of dementia and how lifestyle change may delay onset or slow progression. It examines what factors affect people's ability to make lifestyle changes, how to convey key messages and how to signpost people to support for making changes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• List the lifestyle factors that may increase the risk of developing certain types of dementia
• Describe how lifestyle changes may delay the onset of dementia
• List motivational factors that may impact on the ability to make changes in lifestyle
• Explain the challenges to healthy living that may be experienced by different socio-economic and/or ethnic groups
• Signpost people or groups to sources of health promotion information and support
• Effectively communicate messages about healthy living according to the abilities and needs of individuals

This session will investigate how lifestyle may influence the risk of developing dementia, how lifestyle changes can reduce risks and what affects people's ability to make the necessary changes. It will consider how the ability to make changes is influenced by a person's social and financial resources and their cultural context. Finally, the session will provide information about how to tailor effective messages regarding healthy living and where to signpost people for information and support that will help them to make lifestyle changes to reduce dementia risk.

This session has been mapped to the Dementia Training Standards Framework and is designed to support the Dementia Action Alliance Dementia Statements.