Dementia 7: palliative and end-of-life care for people with dementia

Understanding and addressing the palliative and end-of-life care needs of people with dementia is vital. This article is part of a series on dementia.

Abstract

Having a diagnosis of dementia can significantly reduce a person’s survival time from the onset of symptoms, such as pain, dyspnoea and terminal agitation, and has been shown to be similar to that of some cancers. With growing numbers of cases of dementia expected over the coming decades, we can also expect to see an increase in the number of people who die with dementia (when another comorbid condition causes their death) or from dementia (when there are no other contributing diseases). Supporting good-quality palliative care for people with dementia will be required of all nurses and clinicians in all care settings. This seventh and final article in our series on dementia emphasises that greater awareness of the palliative and end-of-life care needs of people with dementia, and of the needs of family members who are close to them, can improve outcomes as well as the quality of life and death.

Citation: Harrison Dening K (2023) Dementia 7: palliative and end-of-life care for people with dementia. Nursing Times [online]; 119: 9.

Author: Karen Harrison Dening is head of research and publications, Dementia UK, and honorary professor of dementia nursing, De Montfort University, Leicester.