Submitted Papers

The Social Impacts of Dementia

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
If we compare the American and the Hungarian population we will find a huge difference between the size of their populations, but if we concentrate on the social challenges, then we will discover many similarities. Unquestionably, the growing number of people who live with dementia in both countries, is one of these common challenges. Dementia is much more than forgetting things periodically; as the years pass a significant number of neurons die in the cerebral cortex, in the hippocampus and in the limbic system. With the failure of the nerve impulses, a patient not only experiences deepening memory loss, but also develops several behavioral disorders. These symptoms gradually exclude the patient from general society as well as their smaller communities. Meanwhile, the family members can feel helpless and do not know what they could do with their loved one. They typically respond poorly to the unpleasant situations arising from dementia. Due to a lack of support and recognition from communities, family members may feel ashamed. In many cases, they separate from their own communities and no longer will be able to contribute to their society. In this paper, I am going to present suitable alternatives for family members to reduce the negative social impacts of dementia in both countries.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Norbert Vajda is an assistant professor of sociology at the Applied Social Science Institute, Faculty of Arts, University of Miskolc and a Fulbright scholar at the Larkin University, Florida. His main areas of research are community integration, elderly care and dementia care. vajdanorbert@yahoo.com

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