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Bupa Foundation to fund research to support the care needs of older people
25 February 2005
The Bupa Foundation is giving up to £750,000 in grants to research projects that help improve the health and care of older people who suffer mental health problems because of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or other neurodegenerative diseases.
Around five percent of people over the age of 65 are affected to some extent by a form of dementia, and this can put enormous strain on relatives and carers. A census of Bupa’s 258 care homes showed that 78 percent of residents had at least one form of mental impairment and 70 percent suffered from dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s.
Dame Deirdre Hine, chairman of the Bupa Foundation, said: “As the number of older people increases, we need to look at how to improve their health and care. Older people with mental health problems need very specific support and care that meets their increasingly complex needs.
“The Bupa Foundation has agreed to fund projects that focus on the prevention, treatment and palliative care of mental ill health in older people. We hope this research will lead directly to improvements in care and consequently in quality of life, both mental and physical, for those affected and their informal carers.”
The winners of the Bupa Foundation’s grants will be announced at the Improving Care for Older People conference on 7 June, which will be attended by Dr Stephen Ladyman, minister for social care.
Every year the Bupa Foundation gives specialist grants to promote research in a specific area of medical care. In 2004 the Bupa Foundation donated more than £900,000 through specialist grants to studies that looked at ways of exploiting clinically relevant data. In previous years the Bupa Foundation has awarded specialist grants to projects that helped to advance surgical innovation, improve patient choice and involvement in care and prevent adverse incidents in health and care.
In addition to these specialist grants, the Bupa Foundation funds medical research projects in the areas of preventive health, health at work, surgery and projects designed to improve communication between medical professionals and patients.
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