Dementia Management through Community Mental Health Center

Lee, Dong Woo

Abstract

Korea is the most rapidly aging society in the world. The proportion of elderly people which were over 7% in 2000 is predicted to exceed 14% in 2018. The rapid aging of the population results in the increase of the mental illnesses of the elderly such as dementia. But the traditional support system which was maintained mainly by the family and community is rapidly collapsing by the rapid industrialization and urbanization of the Korean society and the rapid nuclearization of the Korean family. So there is an urgent need to establish a system to deal with this problem of dementia. Now the Korean government is preparing for the long-term care system for the elderly people, which will partially cover the problem of dementia. As this system does not cover the problem of early stage of dementia, a comprehensive system which will provide the services from the early stage to the late stage is needed. The community mental health center can provide such services. By establishing the comprehensive community mental health service system for the elderly which covers the prevention, early intervention, and linkage to welfare services, we can provide the most cost-effective service for the problem of dementia.