Living and Dying with Dementia: Dialogues about palliative care
Neil Small, Katherine Froggatt, and Murna Downs
Abstract
Improvements in health care in the 21st century mean people are living longer, but with the paradox that chronic illness is increasingly prevalent. Dementia, a term used to describe various different brain disorders that involve a loss of brain function which is usually progressive and eventually severe, is a condition associated with an ageing population and is becoming increasingly common. Worldwide, there are approximately 24 million people with dementia, expected to rise to 81 million by 2040. Inevitably, people living with dementia will die, but their needs at the end of life are not well ... More
Improvements in health care in the 21st century mean people are living longer, but with the paradox that chronic illness is increasingly prevalent. Dementia, a term used to describe various different brain disorders that involve a loss of brain function which is usually progressive and eventually severe, is a condition associated with an ageing population and is becoming increasingly common. Worldwide, there are approximately 24 million people with dementia, expected to rise to 81 million by 2040. Inevitably, people living with dementia will die, but their needs at the end of life are not well known. This book describes what might be achieved if the values and best practice of both dementia care and palliative care are brought together, to achieve quality end-of-life care for this specific group of patients. It explores what is known about the experience of dying with dementia, using a narrative approach, and develops a model that draws together a ‘person-centred’ approach to care. The book examines the possibilities and the challenges faced when trying to improve quality of life for people with dementia, and presents examples of good practice from across the world.
Keywords:
chronic illness,
dementia,
brain disorders,
brain function,
ageing population,
palliative care
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2007 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198566878 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198566878.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Neil Small, author
Professor of Health Research, University of Bradford, UK
Author Webpage
Katherine Froggatt, author
Senior Lecturer, Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University, UK
Author Webpage
Murna Downs, author
Professor of Dementia Studies, University of Bradford, UK
Author Webpage
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