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 that 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.

Prizes

Winner of Joint winner of the first prize on the New Non-Clinical Medical Book category - Royal Society of Medicine and Society of Authors Medical Book Awards 2008.

This is a work that will be a major influence in dementia and the authors are to be congratulated for illuminating the way forward. * Physical Therapy Reviews *
The authors consider many strands of living with or caring for people with dementia. The philosophical arguments concerning 'quality of life' are riveting and present a compelling discussion of what an individual's life is worth. The book should be read by everyone. * Medical Book Awards *
I, for one, often feel inadequate when confronted with a patient with significant dementia, because so much of what I am used to doing relies on two-way communication. This book explores what is known about the experience of dying with dementia, including accounts from patients and carers...a useful resource for those who deal with patients with dementia and for palliative care workers whose practice brings them into contact with these patients. * Roger Woodruff *

Professor Neil Small has held posts at the Universities of York and Sheffield as well as at Bradford University. He is a social scientist with interests in health policy, chronic illness and end of life care. A more recent focus has been on the impact of ethnicity on patterns of health belief and practice. He is involved with a newly established birth cohort study, the Born in Bradford project. He is also a member of the International Work Group in Death, Dying and Bereavement, a group first set up in 1974, which now has members from 20 countries and for which membership is by invitation only. Dr Katherine Froggatt is Senior Lecturer at the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University and is developing research around older people and palliative and supportive care. Her interests in care for older people and palliative care have led her to undertake several projects concerned with the provision of end of life care in care homes for older people. Murna Downs is Professor in Dementia Studies and Head of the Bradford Dementia Group at the University of Bradford. Her research interests focus on quality of life and quality of care for people with dementia and their families, with a particular emphasis on primary care, nursing home care and end of life care. The Bradford Dementia Group offers undergraduate and post graduate degrees in dementia studies, by distance learning. Murna is also Social Care Advisor to Alzheimer's Europe, a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the Alzheimer's Society, and has formerly been a member of the British Society of Gerontology Executive.