Abstract

There are three main misconceptions concerning dementia that currently exist in the medical field: What it is, what can be done, and what should be done. Firstly, the focus has been exclusively on brain pathology. This is a misconception as dementia is a behavioral condition. It is a cognitive disability that interferes with activities of daily living. Secondly, because no medications or surgeries have yet been discovered that can change brain pathologies, one could get the misconception that nothing can be done to treat dementia at this time. This is false, as there are many interventions that have been found effective in reducing the symptoms of dementia. Finally, the medical field has focused exclusively on finding effective interventions. This is a misconception because the public policy challenge is always to discover effective interventions that are socially worthwhile and therefore worth financing. Only if an evaluation finds that an intervention is effective, and has benefits greater than the costs, should the intervention be invested in.