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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The experience of dying with dementia
— a retrospective study | | Author(s) | Mark McCarthy, Julia Addington-Hall, Dan Altmann |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 12, no 3,, March 1997 |
| Pages | pp 404-409 |
| Keywords | Dying ; Dementia ; Cancer ; Health services ; Needs [elderly] ; Informal care ; The Family ; Social surveys. |
| Annotation | This study is drawn from the Regional Study of Care for the Dying, a retrospective sample survey of the carers, family members or others who knew about the last year of life of a random sample of people aged 15 and over dying in the last quarter of 1990. Within this sample, 170 dementia patients were compared with 1513 cancer patients. Symptoms most commonly reported in the last year were mental confusion (83%), urinary incontinence (72%), pain (64%), low mood (61%), constipation (59%), and loss of appetite (57%). Dementia patients saw the GP less often than cancer patients, and their respondents rated GP assistance less highly. Dementia patients needed more help at home compared with cancer patients, and received more social services. 78% of respondents for dementia and 64% for cancer had come to terms with the patient's death. Patients dying from dementia have symptoms and health care needs comparable with cancer patients, and greater attention should be given to these needs. |
| Accession Number | CPA-970807230 A |
| Classmark | CX: EA: CK: L: IK: P6: SJ: 3F |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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