The number of people who have dementia in the United Kingdom is currently estimated to be 850,000 and is expected to increase year by year to two million by 2051 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). This sizable population of people with dementia is largely cared for at home in the community. Dementia is the umbrella term given to a range of organic brain disorders, the most prevalent of which is Alzheimer’s disease. Table 36.1 provides details of the main disorders listed within the dementia spectrum. Table 36.1 Types of dementia, organic change and function (prevalence)
Care of the person with dementia
Context
What is dementia?
Dementia type
Organic change
Functional change
Alzheimer’s disease (60%)
Diffusion of non-functional brain tissue
Impaired memory, confusion, concentration problems 
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