Windows of opportunity: prevention and early intervention in dementia

Introduction

Early intervention is often seen as anticipatory information and support delivered at the earliest stage of dementia, following diagnosis. However, it is important to ensure that any help or support offered at any stage in a person’s journey with dementia is offered in a timely way. Early intervention is always important. Not everyone seeks help in the earliest stages. Many people do not begin to look for help until dementia is well established and the symptoms are significant. It is vital that local services are able to offer swift support no matter when a person or their carers request it.

Prevention encompasses the range of interventions that prevent an escalation in need that may tip an individual into a higher or more intensive level of service.

The journey through dementia is not a simple, linear progression. There are stages or zones within the journey that each present their own opportunities for timely intervention. The nature of the interventions in each stage will be different. There are also transition points along the way where an individual may need to make decisions about the direction in which they wish to go. The transition points also present an opportunity to health and social care communities to offer interventions that may prevent or delay a person’s journey from moving into a more dependent or critical zone.