DISABILITY AND BRAIN HEALTH

July 6, 2024

It is estimated that brain disorders, affecting more than one billion people, are the leading cause of disability. Optimizing brain health, care, and rehabilitation for those with disability from neurological disease is a global priority, requires involvement of policy makers, health care providers, foundations, public health authorities, professional societies, patient advocacy organizations, and the private sector.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has determined that access to high-quality services, learning and social connections, safety and security, physical health, and healthy surroundings are the factors that influence brain health.

By addressing these determinants, we can optimize brain health, prevent neurological disease, facilitate early and rapid diagnosis, ensure universal access to care, and thus lower the prevalence and disability associated with most neurological diseases. For those with progressive, late-stage, and incurable disease, access to palliative care to ensure human dignity at the end of life is an imperative.