In this study the social construction of dementia is examined closely for the first time. Nancy Harding and Colin Palfrey show how Western society sees dementia as a disease, rather than a natural part of the ageing process. They take issue with the constructed view of the body as a machine, whose parts 'break down' and need replacement.

1. Evaluating the Care of People with Dementia: Beyond the Biomedical Paradigm. 2. Methodological Framework: Social Constructionism. 3. What is Dementia? The Medical Model. 4. Interpreting Dementia: Psychological and Linguistic Models. 5. The Scientific Construction of the `Disease' of Dementia. 6. Medical Diagnosis and the Construction of Dementia. 7. Society and the Construction of Dementia: The Sociology of the Dementing Body. 8. The Social Construction of Dementia. Appendix. References. Further Reading. Index.

Nancy Harding is a Lecturer at Nuffield Institute for Health, Leeds University. Colin Palfrey is Education Consultant at the Institute of Health Care Studies, University of Wales, Swansea.