Dementia Awareness

About this course.

Dementia is not a single disease but a group of conditions caused by different diseases of the brain — Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia among the most common — that gradually affect memory, thinking, communication and the ability to carry out everyday tasks. Almost a million people live with dementia in the UK and the number is rising, so nearly everyone working in care, health, retail, transport or the community will meet someone affected by it. This course explains what dementia is and what is happening in the brain, the main types, and why an early, accurate diagnosis matters.

It then focuses on the person rather than the condition: how dementia can affect memory, perception, communication, mood and behaviour, and how a person-centred approach — seeing the individual, their history and their preferences — supports dignity and wellbeing. It covers practical ways to communicate, respond to distress or behaviour that challenges, and the rights, mental-capacity and safeguarding duties that protect people living with dementia. It is an awareness-level course that gives every learner the understanding to support people with dementia with confidence, empathy and respect.