Dementia (London, England)
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Dementia accounts for one in three deaths among people aged 65 and over, but end-of-life care for people with dementia is often sub-optimal. Palliative care for people with dementia poses particular challenges to those providing services, and current policy initiatives recommend education and training in palliative care for those working with patients with dementia. However, there are few evaluations of the effectiveness of dementia education and training. ⋯ A total of eight papers were identified that described and evaluated such palliative care education; none reported benefits for people with dementia. There is a clear need to develop and evaluate educational interventions designed to improve palliative and end-of-life care for people with dementia. Some suggestions for educationally sound approaches are discussed.
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The experience of being a carer of a person with dementia at the end of life is expressed in these 12 accounts. This is a synthesis of the concerns and challenges for carers at the end of life. ⋯ What emerges from this review is a range of perspectives that provide contrasting views of the heterogeneity of carers and professionals. This may be helpful for professionals and policy makers to consider when planning end-of-life care strategies for people with dementia and insights drawn from hearing directly from carers may be powerful learning tools.