Personhood: Including the Chinese Person with Dementia in Research, Policy, and Practice

Abstract

Literature indicates that dementia caring is difficult and challenging. This literature is scarce for ethnic minorities and lacking most acutely, despite its huge diasporic population, for the Chinese group. Where available, the focus is mostly on the Chinese carer, with the regular absence of the person with dementia and the interactions of the care-partners. From an interpretive phenomenological perspective, this in-depth case study of four Chinese immigrant families takes Kitwood’s (1997) personhood approach to include the Chinese person with dementia. Findings show how this inclusion is possible and important for better understanding and effecting dementia care in research, policy, and practice.