Meet the speaker: Elaine Grisdale

The SILMO Academy by IOA will be taking place 12 April - 14 April in Singapore. Elaine Grisdale will be speaking about improving quality of life for people living with dementia through patient centred care.

Every 3 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone develops dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease International). This presentation is about understanding dementia better and developing initiatives to be able to serve our patients well. As primary care actors it is important that we are aware of the best ways to manage the eyecare needs of people living with the condition. We should be interested professionally but one day, the information in this talk may be of value personally as well. The chances are that we know someone with dementia. That person may be a relative, a friend, a colleague or more probably a patient.

Worldwide, the population of people aged 60 years and over is predicted to double by 2050 (United Nations, 2017). The population increase, coupled with an increasing prevalence of dementia suggests that the > 60 demographic, seeking eye-care services in the future, risks being affected by this shift. Worldwide, there are 50 Million cases (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2020) leading the World Health Organisation (WHO) to describe dementia as “one of the major health challenges of a generation” (WHO, 2015).

In Singapore, an estimated 10% of the population who are 60 years and above, are living with dementia. In the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) nationwide study, the prevalence of dementia was found to be 30,000 in 2010 with predictions to increase to 53,000 in 2020 and 92,000 in 2030 due to the rapidly ageing population.

The Dementia Awareness Monitor in the UK (Alzheimer’s Research UK) revealed that more than half (52%) of the UK public know someone who has been diagnosed with dementia.

Dementia is an umbrella term for different diseases which result in a loss of cognitive function, leading to an erosion of everyday thinking skills and sometimes memory (Alzheimer’s Association, 2021). The loss in brain function usually happens in later life for a variety of reasons, although it is not classed as age-related. This means that the numbers of people with dementia seeking help in ophthalmic practice, not only for simple refractive error but also for age related ocular pathologies, will increase. Optical professionals can help improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and this presentation will help with initiatives.

Elaine is Head of Professional Services and International Development for the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO). She qualified as a dispensing optician and first registered with the General Optical Council in 1985. She became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers in 2000, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 2009 and a Fellow of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics in 2018.

She is an Executive Board member of the European Council of Optometry and Optics and a Trustee of the Board for the European Academy of Optometry and Optics.

Elaine is also the Director of Development for the International Opticians Association whose role is “to enhance and develop the optical profession around the world”

A francophile, Elaine sits on the Scientific Committee Member of the Silmo Academy in France and is a member of the Jury Verres for Silmo.

She is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Dementia Studies having had personal and professional experience of the condition.

Find out more about SILMO Academy my IOA here