BMJ  2006;332:681-682 (25 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7543.681

Editorial

Improving the management of dementia

Simple educational initiatives for primary care teams are not enough

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The prevalence of dementia in the United Kingdom will have risen from the current 600 000 to 1.2 million by 2050, increasing the already considerable financial and social burdens of this disorder.¹ In many countries, including in the United Kingdom, primary care is the first point of contact for many people with dementia, providing longitudinal support to families and coordinating ongoing multiagency management of dementia.² Patients with early dementia and their families may not always get the early help they need, however.

Early recognition and detection of dementia enables people with dementia and their families to better understand and come to terms with the diagnosis and to discuss future care. It also enables more timely access to treatments and drugs.³ With this in mind, a randomised controlled trial in this week's BMJ by Downs and colleagues (p 692) assesses the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving detection . . . [Full text of this article]

Department of Primary Care and General Practice, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B15 2TT
(e.j.england@bham.ac.uk)

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Moniz-Cook, E., Vernooij-Dassen, M. (2006). Editorial: Timely psychosocial intervention in dementia: a primary care perspective. Dementia 5: 307-315  
• Davis, L. R (2006). Benefits from detecting dementia are dubious.. BMJ 332: 916-916 [Full text]  

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Detection of dementia in acute hospitals also needs to be improved

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