Abstract

With contributions from experienced dementia practitioners and care researchers, this book examines the impact of culture and ethnicity on the experience of dementia and on the provision of support and services, both in general terms and in relation to specific minority ethnic communities.

Drawing together evidence-based research and expert practitioners' experiences, this book highlights the ways that dementia care services will need to develop in order to ensure that provision is culturally appropriate for an increasingly diverse older population. The book examines cultural issues in terms of assessment and engagement with people with dementia, challenges for care homes, and issues for supporting families from diverse ethnic backgrounds in relation to planning end of life care and bereavement. First-hand accounts of living with dementia from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds give unique perspectives into different attitudes to dementia and dementia care. The contributors also examine recent policy and strategy on dementia care and the implications for working with culture and ethnicity.

This comprehensive and timely book is essential reading for dementia care practitioners, researchers and policy makers.

This is a book which is absolutely essential to anyone interested in people living with dementia and their care. It is rare to find a text that addresses the complexity of culture and ethnicity in such a person centred way, and unravels for us the implications for how we provide services and make care available to people of all backgrounds.
Charlotte L. Clarke, Professor of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh
[This book] deals with culture and ethnicity to further our understanding of the individual experience of dementia and how that impacts on the person, their carers and their families. It is so rewarding and illuminating to drill down to tap the huge resource of personal experience and how extraneous factors can influence the expression and experience of dementia. Each chapter is a standalone treatise on important aspects of dementia. Understanding the effects of our culture, ethnic background, but most importantly the combination of these will further our depth of understanding and empathy that we all know is the cornerstone of good person centred care. In this way we can strive to improve the lived experience of dementia. The editors and contributors are to be congratulated on bringing to life this hitherto relatively neglected but incredibly important aspect of dementia.
From the foreword by Alistair Burns CBE, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Manchester
This book is extremely timely and is a welcome contribution to our understanding and thinking about how to support people with dementia and their families from an increasingly diverse background. Within the different chapters it skilfully combines a range of important issues and useful information as well as including powerful stories and perspectives of families affected by dementia. Definitely one for the bookshelf for both those supporting families affected by dementia as well as policy, decision makers.
Rachel Thompson, Professional & Practice Development Lead for Admiral Nursing, Dementia UK