Abstract
AbstractBackground:Awareness of dementia is examined in different scientific fields as significant for assessment of diagnosis, and for treatment and adaptation to the disease. There are very few longitudinal studies of individual experiences of awareness among people with dementia, related to quality of life.Aim:To examine how younger people (< 65 years) with dementia (YOD) express awareness of the dementia and how, over time, they seem to handle awareness as a strategy to preserve quality of life.Method:A longitudinal qualitative study with individuals with YOD was performed with interviews every six months over five years for a maximum of ten interviews. The interviews were analysed by modified grounded theory.Findings:Awareness is a complex, multidimensional concept. Awareness of dementia is predisposed by personality, life history and established coping styles. The main coping styles – live in the moment, ignore the dementia, and make the best of it – seem to be rather consistent throughout the progression of the disease. Transitions in life situation, such as moving to a nursing home, may change the individual’s awareness of dementia.Conclusion:Unawareness of dementia may have an important adaptive function to preserve quality of life. To increase awareness must be approached with reflexivity and the utmost sensitivity.
Highlights
Background: Awareness of dementia is examined in different scientific fields as significant for assessment of diagnosis, and for treatment and adaptation to the disease
A longitudinal qualitative study with individuals with YOD was performed with interviews every six months over five years for a maximum of ten interviews
Awareness of dementia is predisposed by personality, life history and established coping styles
Summary
Awareness of dementia is examined in different scientific fields as significant for assessment of diagnosis, and for treatment and adaptation to the disease. 104 - Awareness of Dementia and Coping to Preserve Quality of Life: A Five-Year Longitudinal Narrative Study 1 Vestfold Hospital Trust, Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Ageing and Health, Norway 2 Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway 3 University of South-Eastern Norway 3 Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
