However, more attention and efforts are still needed to address the gaps in diagnosis, health, social, and educational services and care programs specific to older adults with dementia in Saudi Arabia and their informal caregivers ( 7, 8).Īlthough there is no official data that show the exact number of informal caregivers for older adults with dementia in the country, Saudi experts predict that most of the care for this population is provided by unpaid informal caregivers due to the cultural and religious belief that caring for older adults is a family responsibility ( 9). Generally, formal care and services for older adults in the country has enhanced recently via introduction of various care and services by government and private sector, such as health services (therapeutic programs, geriatric clinics, and discount cards for medical services), social services (free transportation services, housing programs, and social entertainment programs), educational services (literacy programs, vocational training programs, and teaching Quran reading programs), and spatial services (seating for the older adults, private parking, and wheelchair services) ( 6). These symptoms are linked to many problems that make life more stressful for older adults with dementia and their family caregivers, such as physical decline, personality change, poor oral intake, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance ( 3– 5). Dementia is a term that refers to a specific set of symptoms, including memory, language, problem-solving, and other thinking skills impairments. There are currently no published studies in the nation that evaluate the incidence and prevalence rate of dementia. With the Saudi population’s anticipated move toward old age, chronic diseases, particularly dementia, are anticipated to become more prevalent ( 3). By 2050, ten million people are anticipated to be over the age of 60 in the country ( 2). In Saudi Arabia, there were more than one million and a half individuals aged 60 and over in 2022 ( 1). Approaches for advancing policy, practice, and education are provided to support the evolution of gerontological social work in dementia care in the region. The following primary issues were explored: (1) the impact of the biomedical model’s global dominance on gerontological social work policy and research for dementia care and health promotion (2) the position of the older adults in Middle Eastern nations and its connection to the lack of gerontological social work policies, programs, and care services for older adults with dementia and their family caregivers (3) the effect of the profession of social work’s lack of recognition on the potential evolution of gerontological social work practice in dementia care (4) the state of dementia patients’ rights, dementia patients’ safety, and dementia patients’ rights to self-determination on the gerontological social work support provided for older adults with dementia (5) the unequal distribution of dementia care resources and gerontological social work and (6) the social work education programs’ inability to supply the market with sufficient number of skilled gerontological social workers and its effect on the advancement of dementia care in gerontological social work practice. The issues and challenges in the current state of gerontological social work policy, practice, and education related to dementia care in Saudi Arabia are discussed in this article. Social Studies Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Journal of gerontological social work