THE EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

This paper explores the early experience of dementia when the veil of uncertainty that surrounds the diagnosis, of this condition is lifted. Consideration will also be given to the impact of dementia on carers and the service demands that are created. In the UK alone there are es timated to be 636 000 people living with dementia, with this figure ri sing to just under 900 000 by the year 2021. In the USA the projected number of people with Alzheimer's disease is expected to be 9 000 000 by the year 2040 Despite a wealth of social and gerontological researc h on the impact of dementia upon family carers, service responses and policy initiatives are fragmented because dementia is excluded from so me important recent initiatives, such as the Mental Health Task Force. Current services and interventions focus predominantly on the later s tages of dementia, when a meaningful perspective of the person with de mentia is difficult to obtain. Nursing has a relatively long history o f caring for people with dementia and their family carers. The paper w ill also consider the contribution of nursing and nursing research to the field and explore additional avenues for service intervention and education.