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Qualitative
Learning to live with early stage dementia involved a continuous process of adjustment that comprised 5 stages

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebn.6.2.64

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    Werezak L, Stewart N. Learning to live with early dementia.Can J Nurs Res2002;34:67–85.OpenUrlPubMed

    QUESTION: How do older adults learn to live with early stage dementia?

    Design

    Grounded theory.

    Setting

    Saskatchewan, Canada.

    Participants

    3 women and 3 men (age range 61–79 y) with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or related disorder and early stage dementia. All participants lived at home with their spouses.

    Methods

    Each person participated in 2 semistructured interviews. Transcripts from the first interviews were analysed using constant comparison, and 5 preliminary categories were identified. During second interviews (1–3 mo later) the author validated and expanded on these 5 categories.

    Main findings

    A theoretical framework outlined the continuous process of adjusting to early stage dementia, which comprised 5 stages: antecedents, anticipation, appearance, assimilation, and acceptance. Different levels of awareness connected the stages. As participants moved through the stages, their awareness shifted from highly introspective to more outwardly focussed.

    (1) Antecedents included subprocesses that made it difficult to obtain a …

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    Footnotes

    • For correspondence: Ms L Werezak, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Kelsey Campus, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. werezak{at}siast.sk.ca

    • Source of funding: not stated.