Socio-Cultural Response towards Patients With Dementia: An Ethnographic Study of Bahawalnagar, Pakistan

Abstract

This ethnographic research is the result of three months of fieldwork that investigates the socio-cultural responses towards patients with dementia about the behavior and perceptions of common people and caregivers in the district of Bahawalnagar province of Punjab, Pakistan. I did participant observation, informal discussions, case studies, and in-depth interviews apart from doing some descriptive statistical analysis. I interacted with the locals of district Bahawalnagar, caregivers, and common people of the community to understand how different socio-psychological factors enable, disable, and or rather impair the patients with dementia to carry out daily tasks effectively. In the context of Pakistan, the prevalence of dementia patients currently stands at 150,000– 200,000 individuals that makes a significant number given the country’s demographics. I interrogate the consequences of the negative behaviors towards patients with dementia, predicting that the prevalence of dementia is likely to increase in low-middle-income countries like Pakistan. It was found that social norms, cultural beliefs, and individual experiences are interconnected in how society reacts to dementia. Community representatives interviewed for this study exhibited negative behavior seeing patients with dementia as cursed maniacs. Medical practitioners treating patients with dementia are rare in Pakistan, and in most cases, patients are either left untreated or treated through spiritual healing practices. The public lacks proper awareness regarding the nature, and treatment of the disease, and the proper attitude towards patients with dementia. Consequently, dementia patients are stigmatized and treated carelessly by their families and communities, which affects everything from the way people disclose their diagnosis to marriage concerns and attitudes toward patients with dementia. Research participants often defined and explained dementia concerning their religious beliefs and cultural superstitions instead of proffering modern medical explanations that relate the ailment with the cognitive degeneration of the nervous system owing to aging. The study concludes that the parents, nurses, and the community at large need to be educated about dementia, and the way patients with dementia should be treated and cared for. The study recommends that public policy of the government related to sociopsychological ailments must incorporate anthropological insights to create a humane and caring society.