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Bupa Foundation awards over £850,000 to projects that support the care needs of older people

The Bupa Foundation today announced that it has awarded over £850,000 to five research projects that help to improve the health and care of older people who suffer mental health problems because of Alzheimer's or other neurodegenerative diseases.

Around five percent of people over the age of 65 are affected to some extent by a form of dementia, and this can put enormous strain on relatives and carers. A census of Bupa's 252 care homes showed that 78 percent of residents had at least one form of mental impairment and 70 percent suffered from dementia, stroke or Parkinson's.

The following projects have been awarded funding from the Bupa Foundation:

• a trial by The Stroke Association to determine whether vascular surgery can help prevent older people suffering from stroke
• a study at the University of Newcastle into ways of improving communication between dementia patients and their doctors
• a project at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, to determine whether a blood test for the enzyme GSK-3 could be useful in helping to diagnose Alzheimer's disease
• a pilot study by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong into whether Curcumin can help to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease
• a study at the University of Cambridge to gain a fuller understanding of what it means to live to a very old age

Speaking at tomorrow's conference on Improving Care for Older People, Dame Deirdre Hine, chairman of the Bupa Foundation, will say: "I am delighted to announce funding for these extremely worthwhile projects. As the number of older people increases, we need to look at how to improve their health and care. The Bupa Foundation is committed to helping fund research that will lead directly to improvements in quality of life for older people affected by mental ill health and their carers."

Every year the Bupa Foundation gives specialist grants to promote research in a specific area of medical care. In addition to these specialist grants, the Bupa Foundation funds medical research projects in the areas of preventive health and epidemiology, health at work, surgery and projects designed to improve communication between medical professionals and patients.

Find out more about the five projects being awarded funding grants