The guideline is divided into chapters, each covering a set of related topics. The first chapter is an executive summary listing the key priorities for implementation and all of the guideline recommendations (a separate version of this chapter is published by NICE and SCIE and can be downloaded from their websites: www.nice.org.uk/www.scie.org.uk). Chapters 2 and 3 provide a general introduction to guidelines and the methods used to develop this guideline. The fourth chapter provides an introduction to dementia, including three care examples, which indicate how clinical and social perspectives interact. Also in Chapter 4, there are sections covering issues related to risk, disclosure/stigma, legal matters, ethics, palliative care and the economic cost of dementia. Chapters 5 to 9 detail the evidence upon which this guideline is based. At the end of each of these chapters, the associated recommendations are provided along with a reference to the relevant chapter section where the evidence that underpins each recommendation can be found.
Each evidence chapter begins with a general introduction to the topic that sets the recommendations in context. Depending on the nature of the evidence, narrative reviews or meta-analyses were conducted. Therefore, the structure of the chapters varies. Where meta-analyses were conducted, information is given about both the interventions included and the studies considered for review. This is followed by tables summarising the important outcomes (complete evidence profiles and forest plots can be found in Appendix 16 and Appendix 20, respectively). Where available, health economic evidence is presented in a separate section, as is qualitative evidence relating to experience of care. A narrative evidence summary is then used to summarise the evidence presented.
On the CD-ROM, further methodological information and details about the included studies and evidence can be found (see for details). In addition, there is a tutorial about how to use forest plots, which can be accessed via the menu.
