Carers need help before dementia diagnosis

One of the most difficult times when caring for a friend or family member with dementia is the period before diagnosis, according to new research led by UCL and published online today in the British Medical Journal . As the population ages, a large and increasing number of people are caring for a relative or friend with a form of dementia. Those family carers often have to make decisions on behalf of the other person. The study, based on interviews with family carers in London, is the first to ask in detail about the difficulties they have experienced when making decisions for a loved one with dementia, and the types of decisions they have had to make. Lead author Professor Gill Livingston, UCL Mental Health Sciences, said: 'Currently, most help for family carers is targeted through health and social services after a diagnosis. What carers told us in this study is that help needs to be available before then. There's often a significant period of time before diagnosis when the carer knows there's a problem, but getting the person with dementia to the doctor and then the doctor to see this is difficult.