Family caregivers' and professionals' stigmatic experiences with persons with early-onset dementia: a qualitative study

Assistance Dogs for People with Younger (Early)-Onset Dementia: The Family Carer's Experience

There is growing evidence for trained assistance dogs promoting the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of people in a variety of circumstances, including for those with dementia. Little is known about people with younger (early)-onset dementia (YOD) and family carers. As part of a larger study involving 14 people with YOD matched with trained assistance dogs over a two-year period, we report analyses of interviews with 10 family carers conducted on multiple occasions investigating their experience with an assistance dog. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and subjected to inductive thematic analysis. They told a range of experiences; the good and the challenging. Findings fell into three areas: the human-animal bond; relationship dynamics; and responsibility for caring. Concerns were raised with respect to the resources required of carers together with the financial resources needed to support an assistance dog. The study concludes that trained assistance dogs can play an important role promoting the health and wellbeing of both people with YOD and of their family carers. However, support needs to be in place as the circumstances of the family member with YOD changes and the role of the assistance dog as part of the family also changes. Practical (financial) support of a scheme such as the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) could be important to sustaining such support.

“An animated socialization without substance:” experiences of persons living with dementia through the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Like so many others, persons living with dementia have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Stakeholder Advisory Council set a research priority to learn more about the experiences of families living with dementia during COVID-19.

Methods

This study was conducted using a multi-method design. Online surveys were completed by 27 persons living with dementia to rate the impact of COVID-19 on their health and healthcare. Additionally, interviews (n = 3) and two focus groups were conducted via Zoom with eight participants to explore the experiences of persons living with dementia during COVID-19.

Results

Most participants in this study reported that COVID-19 had some to extreme impact on their anxiety, feelings of isolation, and quality of life. Focus groups and interviews provided context and increased understanding of the main survey findings, with participants also describing other concerns and how they were coping with all of the challenges that came with COVID-19. Five themes from the qualitative data were health, isolation, feelings about COVID-19, adapting to COVID-19, and self-refection.

Discussion

Although persons living with dementia described the ways that COVID-19 impacted on their quality of life, they also described strategies for coping. For those persons living with dementia who are able to utilize technology, this study highlights the ongoing need to provide virtual opportunities for socialization and support. These findings also emphasize the need to create safe opportunities for socialization such as small socially distanced activities that may allow persons living with dementia to maintain social connections through the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout the progression of their disease.

Analysis of family stigma and socioeconomic factors impact among caregivers of patients with early- and late-onset Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

To the best of our knowledge, there are no research studies about socioeconomic factors, family stigma, and their psychological impact on early-onset dementia caregivers. We assessed the impact of family stigma and socioeconomic factors on psychological outcomes, quality of life (QoL), and caregiver burden among 150 caregivers of patients with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease due to E280A mutation in presenilin 1 (EOAD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). Caregivers of patients with EOAD presented a higher frequency of socioeconomic risk factors. Caregivers of FTD presented higher levels of family stigma and a higher prevalence of negative outcomes. We found family stigma to be a more suitable predictor of all outcomes. After adjusting for the type of dementia, dementia stage and behavioral changes, and caregiver age and education, family stigma was the most important factor associated with a higher risk of caregiver burden and a reduction in QoL in terms of energy fatigue and emotional wellbeing among early-onset dementia caregivers.

Knowledge and Attitudes towards Palliative Care: Validation of the Spanish Version of Questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia

Background: Palliative care is essential in the care of people with advanced dementia, due to the increasing number of patients requiring care in the final stages of life. Nurses need to acquire specific knowledge and skills to provide quality palliative care. The Questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia (qPAD) is useful for assessing knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care, but its adaptation to the Spanish language and analysis of its effectiveness and usefulness for the Spanish culture is lacking. Objective: To report on the Spanish language adaptation and psychometric analysis of the qPAD. Methods: The Questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia Spanish version (qPAD-SV) was obtained from a process that included translation, back-translation, comparison with other language versions, expert review, and pilot study. Content validity, criterion validity, and reliability of the questionnaire were analyzed. The difficulty and discrimination indices of items composing the knowledge subscale were also calculated. Results: Adequate content validity index obtained after the analysis of qPAD-SV by a heterogeneous group of experts was found (overall CVI = 0.96; 0.95 for the Knowledge subscale and 0.99 for the Attitudes subscale). Significant correlations with the Palliative Care Knowledge test (rho = 0.368, p < 0.001) and Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale (rho = 0.621, p < 0.001) show an adequate criterion validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Knowledge subscale (0.60) and the Attitudes subscale (0.91) supported the reliability of the qPAD-SV. The questionnaire had an overall difficulty index of 0.71, with three items that could be considered difficult or very difficult, and eleven items that could be considered very easy. Discussion: Although it shows internal consistency, validity, and difficulty indices similar to those obtained by qPAD versions in other languages, a reformulation of the items with lower content validity or discrimination indices and those that show difficulties in their comprehension is an aspect to be taken into account to improve this tool. Conclusions: The qPAD-SV is a useful instrument in Spanish to measure the knowledge of Spanish nurses in palliative care and is suitable for international comparisons.

Family carers' narratives of the financial consequences of young onset dementia

Individuals with young onset dementia and their families face unique challenges, such as disruptions to their life cycle and relationships and a dearth of appropriate supports. Financial consequences have also been noted in the literature yet have not been explored in-depth. The purpose of this research was to qualitatively explore carers’ experiences of financial consequences resulting from the young onset dementia of a family member and how these consequences may be managed. Eight carers (7 women and 1 man) provided a written online narrative about their journey with young onset dementia and any financial consequences experienced, with open-ended prompts to elicit details not yet shared. Narratives were inductively coded and analyzed using a thematic narrative approach. Carers described a voluntary or involuntary end to employment for the person with young onset dementia around the time of diagnosis. This engendered ongoing and anticipated financial consequences, combined with the need for carers to balance employment with the provision of care (which often meant early retirement for spousal carers). Common themes were tension between the needs to provide care and earn income, altered financial prospects, costs of care, and lack of available and accessible supports to ameliorate financial consequences. Findings illustrate the reality of financial consequences across the trajectory of young onset dementia. These consequences may manifest differently for spousal and child carers and are not being adequately addressed by existing supports.

Thematic Analysis of Dyadic Coping in Couples With Young-Onset Dementia

Importance

A diagnosis of young-onset dementia (YOD) is a life-altering event for both persons with dementia and their spousal caregivers. Dyadic coping (DC) theoretical models acknowledge that dyads cope with stressors as a unit, but these models have yet to be used in YOD.

Objective

To explore the lived experiences of couples managing YOD using an integrated DC model.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This qualitative study recruited couples from a single major medical setting and through social media. Eligibility criteria included cohabitation, 1 partner diagnosed with YOD and able to participate, and both partners willing to participate. Live online video interviews were conducted from March to June 2020.

Exposures

One semistructured interview, which was recorded and subsequently transcribed. Recruitment was stopped once thematic saturation was reached.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Five themes were deductively derived based on the integrated DC framework, including stress communication, positive individual DC, positive conjoint DC, negative individual DC, and negative conjoint DC. Within each theme, subthemes were inductively identified to further characterize couples' dyadic coping experiences with YOD.

Results

A total of 23 couples were interviewed, comprising persons with dementia (11 women [48%]; mean [SD] age, 61.3 [4.65] years; mean [SD] time from diagnosis, 3.11 [3.85]) years; and spousal caregivers (13 women [57%]; mean [SD] age, 60.5 [5.40] years). Data supported the 5 a priori DC themes and novel subthemes describing couples' experiences with YOD. Specifically, couples enacted positive conjoint DC by approaching challenges using a teamwork approach to problem solving and relying on collaborative communication. In contrast, couples engaged in negative conjoint DC through mutual avoidance, leading to increased negative communication and conflict. Couples described initially engaging in avoidance and withdrawal to navigate YOD-related stressors. While these strategies provided short-term relief from challenging emotions, they prevented engagement in adaptive coping (eg, acceptance and collaborative problem-solving) to promote long-term adjustment.

Conclusions and Relevance

This study used an evidence-based integrated DC approach to identify the positive and negative coping behaviors of couples managing YOD. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use a DC framework to guide qualitative analysis, and it provides valuable insights into DC strategies used by couples navigating YOD-related stressors. Findings can inform the development of dyadic psychosocial services for couples managing YOD and have implications for other progressive illnesses.

In It Together: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of Common and Unique Psychosocial Stressors and Adaptive Coping Strategies of Persons With Young-Onset Dementia and Their Caregivers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The common and unique psychosocial stressors and adaptive coping strategies of people with young-onset dementia (PWDs) and their caregivers (CGs) are poorly understood. This meta-synthesis used the stress and coping framework to integrate and organize qualitative data on the common and unique psychosocial stressors and adaptive coping strategies employed by PWDs and CGs after a diagnosis of young-onset dementia (YOD).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Five electronic databases were searched for qualitative articles from inception to January 2020. Qualitative data were extracted from included articles and synthesized across articles using taxonomic analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 486 articles were obtained through the database and hand searches, and 322 articles were screened after the removal of duplicates. Sixty studies met eligibility criteria and are included in this meta-synthesis. Four themes emerged through meta-synthesis: 1) common psychosocial stressors experienced by both PWDs and CGs, 2) unique psychosocial stressors experienced by either PWDs or CGs, 3) common adaptive coping strategies employed by both PWDs and CGs, and 4) unique adaptive coping strategies employed by either PWDs or CGs. Within each meta-synthesis theme, subthemes pertaining to PWDs, CGs, and dyads (i.e., PWD and CG as a unit) emerged.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The majority of stressors and adaptive coping strategies of PWDs and CGs were common, supporting the use of dyadic frameworks to understand the YOD experience. Findings directly inform the development of resiliency skills interventions to promote adaptive coping in the face of a YOD diagnosis for both PWDs and CGs.

Depression, everyday technology use and life satisfaction in older adults with cognitive impairments: a cross-sectional exploratory study

RATIONAL

Life satisfaction is strongly associated with participation in everyday life activities. Yet, older adults with cognitive impairments have been found to experience difficulties in accessing and engaging in more complex everyday activities, especially, if these involve everyday technology. Considering the rapidly advancing technological landscape, this may substantially affect individuals' life satisfaction and their participation in meaningful community-based and home-based activities.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore the associations between life satisfaction, ability to use everyday technology and number of relevant everyday technologies used in older adults (n = 117) with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). It also aimed to understand the role of depression, activity involvement and diagnosis regarding life satisfaction in this sample.

METHOD

Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests and t-tests were applied to compare those satisfied and those dissatisfied with life regarding ability to use everyday technology and number of relevant everyday technologies used.

FINDINGS

The number of relevant community-based everyday technologies currently not used was significantly associated with being dissatisfied with life (p < 0.05). Further, depression and withdrawal from activities and interests significantly differed across life satisfaction groups, while no group differences were found regarding overall number of everyday technologies in use and ability to use everyday technology.

CONCLUSION

Attention from healthcare professionals and researchers to early withdrawal from activities that rely on community-based everyday technologies is called for, especially in older adults with depression. Preventing everyday technology-related barriers in community life may increase life satisfaction.

The influence of the age of dementia onset on college students' stigmatic attributions towards a person with dementia

Background

Research in the area of public stigma and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is limited to examining stigmatic beliefs towards persons aged 65 and over (i.e., persons with late-onset dementia). The aim of the present study was to compare college students’ stigmatic attributions towards an older and a younger person with AD, using an attributional model of stigma.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 375 college students (mean age = 25.5, 58.9% female, 64.3% Jewish) who answered a computerized, self-administered, structured questionnaire after being presented with one of two randomly distributed vignettes varying in the age of the person with AD – 80 or 50 years of age. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral attributions of stigma were assessed using an adapted version of the Attribution Questionnaire. Other variables examined included background information, experiences and concerns about developing AD. T-tests and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) hierarchical regressions were used to analyze results.

Results

Similar to previous studies, students’ levels of dementia stigma were low to moderate. Negative attributions were consistently and significantly higher (β = .17 to .33, p < .01), and positive attributions were significantly lower (β = −.26, p < .01) when the target person was younger rather than older.

Conclusion

The differences in stigmatic beliefs towards a younger and older person with AD point to the theoretical and practical importance of clearly stating the age of the target person in stigma studies as well as in programs aimed at reducing public stigma towards persons with AD.