The iCoDem/24 conference, held this year under the title "Palliative Care in Dementia," has concluded in Sarajevo. Brain health and dementia prevention; violence against individuals with dementia; and palliative care in dementia are just some of the topics we discussed on Novi dan with Osman Kucuk, director of the Center for Dementia.

The international congress on dementia was held for the seventh time. Brain health and dementia prevention are issues addressed by all conscious and oriented countries worldwide.

“This year's congress was very successful. Once again, we had multidisciplinary teams. We talked about many aspects treated by palliative care in dementia, and palliative care in general is not properly formulated or defined in Bosnian regulations. It is currently focused, as a definition, on end-of-life care and primarily directed towards oncology patients – which essentially is not palliative care, which is much, much broader, and that is just one of its segments,” explains Kucuk.

This year, for the first time at iCoDem/24, a group of local experts from six countries in the region was formed, gathering specialists from renowned institutions, and iCoDem was also held in the BHS language for the first time.

Every three seconds, one person will become demented

A new case of dementia occurs every three seconds worldwide, says Kucuk. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 150,000 citizens suffer from dementia.

“These people have absolutely no support. The problem is getting a diagnosis, receiving a valid, accurate diagnosis, not just a superficial one, and most importantly, establishing post-diagnostic therapy, which essentially determines how well and how long you will live – and it’s not just about medications. It’s based on medications, pharmacological approaches, but most of it involves non-pharmacological approaches. That is precisely why we talked about palliative care, what needs to be done to make the comprehensive journey of a person affected by dementia manageable,” Kučuk emphasizes.

He adds that “Violence against individuals with dementia” is another topic addressed by this year's congress participants, which is part of palliative care.

“This is mostly invisible violence. What we cannot see relates to neglect, abandonment, financial exploitation, sexual violence, etc. There are many forms of this invisible violence, plus visible violence. All of this affects the condition of the affected person, in such a way that families directly influence whether the patient will seek diagnosis in time, and once the patient seeks help, they influence whether they will receive a diagnosis, whether they will support them through the process of undergoing all the necessary tests to get the diagnosis, and then often withdraw and leave the patient,” says Kucuk.

Withdrawal means not providing support to the patient, which means, Kucuk emphasizes, changing their life.

“The patient cannot endure this alone, as it lasts for years. It is a difficult process. Cognitive abilities diminish, and every day you can do less. If you follow all these therapies, you won't decline as quickly; the process will be much slower, and you will have more time and a better quality of life. However, since the state doesn't cover you, since the system doesn't recognize you, you have to pay for something. When you need to pay, the family says, ‘We don't have money.’ Yet they use his land, his cottage, his car, his apartment, his house, and spend his money from his account, etc. Some people realize this and make arrangements, some don't. These are the forms of violence that directly affect the affected person. However, they also affect the system,” says Kucuk.