Equity of access to a memory clinic in Melbourne? Non‐English speaking background attenders are more severely demented and have increased rates of psychiatric disorders

Impact of socioeconomic status on the prevalence of dementia in an inner city memory disorders clinic

“…This is not that surprising given that major depression is commonly associated with increased cognitive complaints (Harwood et al, 1999;Stewart et al, 2001;Fischer et al, 2008) and the majority of patients were referred to the clinic because of a complaint of memory loss. Studies done on previous memory clinics have also suggested a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity (Barker et al, 1994;LoGiudice et al, 2001;Luce et al, 2001;Hejl et al, 2003;Stratford et al, 2003). LoGiudice et al (2001) compared psychiatric comorbidity in English and non-English speaking patients and found a much higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity among patients who did not speak English.…”

“…Studies done on previous memory clinics have also suggested a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity (Barker et al, 1994;LoGiudice et al, 2001;Luce et al, 2001;Hejl et al, 2003;Stratford et al, 2003). LoGiudice et al (2001) compared psychiatric comorbidity in English and non-English speaking patients and found a much higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity among patients who did not speak English.…”

Evaluation of Alzheimer's Australia Vic Memory Lane Cafés

“…Alzheimer's Australia Vic staff and service providers noted that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were less likely to attend Memory Lane Cafés, as they are less likely to access the Living With Memory Loss Program. This may be due to this group of people being more likely to be diagnosed later in the progression of their illness (LoGiudice et al, 2001), and therefore unable to benefit from early intervention programs. It might also highlight the fact that services need to be diverse, and culturally appropriate and sensitive, to meet individual needs.…”

Levels and rates of depression among Chinese people living in Chinese ethno-specific and mainstream residential care in Sydney

“…Studies suggest there are differences in the prevalence of mental health problems in CALD in comparison with non-CALD older persons in the community (LoGiudice et al, 2001). Higher rates of depression among elderly minority groups in countries such as Canada and the U.S.A. have also been reported (Lai, 2004;Ostbye et al, 2005).…”

“…Higher rates of depression among elderly minority groups in countries such as Canada and the U.S.A. have also been reported (Lai, 2004;Ostbye et al, 2005). Contributing factors to higher depression rates in ethnic communities could include communication problems leading to social isolation and decreased access to care (LoGiudice et al, 2001), culturally different interpretations of depression (Huang et al, 2003), and lack of culturally appropriate assessment tools and services (LoGiudice et al, 2001).…”