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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The experience of providing care in the early stages of dementia
— an interpretative phenomenological analysis | | Author(s) | Catherine Quinn, Linda Clare, Alison Pearce |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 12, no 6, November 2008 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis, November 2008 |
| Pages | pp 769-778 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Early ; Services ; Qualitative Studies ; South West England ; South East England. |
| Annotation | Despite a wealth of research on factors affecting the well-being of caregivers for people with dementia, relatively little attention has been given to issues facing caregivers in the early stages of dementia. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 spouses or partners of people with a diagnosis of early-stage dementia recruited through memory clinics covering rural and urban areas in the south of England. The aim was to elicit participants' understanding of, and perspective on, their situation and experience. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretive phenomenological analysis. Four main themes were identified, relating to difficulties in understanding the nature and meaning of the diagnosis and condition, changes in the relationship, problems and challenges, and ways of coping. Limited understanding of dementia appeared to add to considerably to the difficulties faced by caregivers at a time when they were having to respond to major changes in the relationship and interactions, making significant adjustments to their lives and considering the future. The importance of helping family members to develop a working understanding of the condition in the early stages is underlined. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090402208 A |
| Classmark | EA: 4J: I: 3DP: 82Y: 82Z |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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