Abstract
In-depth semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interview with self-selected participants recruited via adverts, contact with provider organizations and cards placed in retail and service settings. Questions focused on attitudes to dementia and expectations of public campaigning and education. Community-dwelling adults were interviewed across five Australian states. A total of 111 people from 5 target groups: people with dementia (n = 19), carers (n = 28), care work and service professionals from healthcare (n = 21), social work (n = 23) and commercial service professions (n = 20) involving people in younger adulthood (n = 13), early midlife (n = 23), later midlife (n = 54), and older age (n = 21). All interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically by three researchers, reaching consensus before coding and further analysis in NVivo. Narrative analysis of transcripts included 330 topics relating to 6 main areas of focus. Attitudes and views on effective future campaigning reflected a desire for greater social inclusion, but did not focus on prevention and health services. Professionals focused on increasing interpersonal skills, people with dementia on normalization, and carers on awareness-raising. Public health campaigning and education in relation to dementia, could benefit from closer consideration of perspective and age of recipient in intervention design. Interpersonal skills and social inclusion were identified as key issues.
Highlights
Social attitudes toward dementia are becoming increasingly important as part of a wider shift in emphasis from cure to care
Professionals focused on increasing interpersonal skills, people with dementia on normalization, and carers on awareness-raising
This suggests that professional voices would no longer be the dominant perspective determining service systems and wider public attitudes; it indicates that the voices of carers and people with dementia should be distinguished from each other (Yeandle et al, 2012)
Summary
Social attitudes toward dementia are becoming increasingly important as part of a wider shift in emphasis from cure to care This implies new directions for public health education and campaigning. Following the wider disability and mental health survivor movements, people with dementia are finding a political voice, which brings that perspective into sharper focus (Swaffer, 2015; Bartlett et al, 2017; Dementia Alliance International, 2017) This suggests that professional voices would no longer be the dominant perspective determining service systems and wider public attitudes; it indicates that the voices of carers and people with dementia should be distinguished from each other (Yeandle et al, 2012).
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