Economic and Social Aspects of Informal Care for Alzheimer's Disease Patients in the Czech Republic

Developed countries are witnessing a change in long-term demographic development. The population ageing is to be expected, which is related to an increase in the number of age-related illnesses and higher expenditures on health care. One of the age-related illnesses is dementia. Whereas lower-age groups suffer from it in one-digit-figure number of cases, the breaking point coincides with the retirement age, when its incidence rises with each year of age. This paper aims to describe possibilities of formal health care in the Czech Republic, accessible financial support for caring persons, and to assess the adequacy of government measures related to the expected population ageing of the Czech populace. The Czech government has twice promised to. prepare national strategy for treating dementia but nothing has materialized, yet. Nonetheless, the need to further invest public money is not the only thing to do. A lot can be done in current conditions. For instance, it is advisable to find out the needs of patients, coordinate research results or express political support to this topic.