New Taipei City is the most populous administrative district in Taiwan with a population of more than 500, 000 older adults. The dementia prevalence rate among adults aged 65 years or older is 7.94%, and the number of people with dementia in New Taipei City was estimated to have exceeded 40, 000. More young people have also recently been diagnosed with dementia. Therefore, dementia is no longer a disease specific to older adults, but one that everyone in society should pay attention to.
 

Promoting knowledge on dementia is difficult because the disease is hard to recognize by the average member of the public. Many have failed to correctly differentiate dementia from memory aging, in addition to overlooking the symptoms of young patients with dementia; these have led to misunderstanding and prejudice against patients with dementia. To build a dementia-friendly society, the New Taipei City government begins by improving general education on dementia, where such knowledge is internalized into attitudes and actions that facilitate the congenial treatment of patients with dementia. The basic teaching material for a dementia care training course was established in 2018, and 185 instructors were trained as part of the plan to publicize the course—aimed at educating members of the public as to how best to support patients with dementia. A total of 52,869 people have completed the course from its launch in 2018 to September 2019.

Competent Authority：Department of Health, New Taipei City Government