Lived‐experienced of people living with dementia in Mauritius

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundMauritius has an ageing population of about 20%. There is a rise in the number of dementia due to increased prevalence of risk factors in the population. The interest of the researcher is to explore the daily living experience of people with dementia. Therefore, the understanding of the lived‐experience as detailed by the person himself/ herself is a unique, highly valued and rich adventure.MethodIn order to capture the lived‐experience of people with dementia, an audio‐recorded smartphone was used. One‐to‐one interview was conducted for 30‐40 minutes. Short interview questions relating to the daily living activities was used. Raw data was obtained until theoretical saturation. Data was decoded and grouped into sub‐themes, themes and main themes using thematic analysis.ResultLived‐ experience of person with dementia (n = 20) is rich. New data emerges from the interview process, exploring new dimensions of unknown. Seven of the main themes were ‘dependency’, ’family support’, ‘memory recall’, ‘caring’, ‘music and singing’, ‘activity’ and ‘knowledge on Alzheimer’s disease’. High emotions and the facial expressions were equally important.Conclusion‘Quality is more important than quantity’ in examination of real‐ life experiences.