Lancashire Care Library and Information Service

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a number of diseases caused by the destruction of brain tissue. Once considered an inevitability of aging, dementia can affect adults of any age. We give you the information you need to recognize dementia so you can provide the best possible care for your patients.

Nurses who work in acute care settings frequently encounter individuals experiencing dementia. Because these patients are hospitalized for other acute or chronic conditions, understanding the difference between delirium and the different types of dementia is difficult. As a result, nurses may experience stress when caring for these patients because treatment approaches differ for delirium and dementia. Occurring in adults of all ages, dementia—a global loss of cognitive ability that affects physical, social, and occupational functioning—encompasses many diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia, Parkinson disease (PD), and the less commonly known frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia. Learning how to distinguish between the different types of dementia and recognizing the difference between delirium and various dementias can help reduce this stress.