Sons' experiences of caring for a mother with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring sons' experiences of caring for a mother affected by dementia and of receiving psychological support: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
IRAS ID
259748
Contact name
Christina Hutton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Roehampton
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 2 days
Research summary
The proposed study will explore the experiences of sons caring for a mother affected by dementia and of receiving psychological support.
Research has suggested that the burden of caring can impact on the carers' mental wellbeing with an increased risk of disorders such as depression. NICE guidelines recognise the need for carers support but services vary and tend to focus on more practical support. Research also suggests the needs of carers can vary depending on their role and relationship to the person affected by dementia, and recommends interventions are tailored to individual circumstances. One group that my be particularly vulnerable and under-researched are adult-son carers. Literature suggests the number of sons becoming primary carers for a parent with dementia is increasing. Existing studies of adult-sons carers have also not differentiated between whether the cared-for parent is a mother or a father, though this may have a bearing on understanding in this area.
This study will explore the experiences of adult-sons caring for a mother which may be particularly useful to understand, given the complexities of caring for an individual who was once the child's own primary carer.
Gaining a better understanding of the needs of the group and their experiences seems timely, and would help to inform the development of effective services for this population.
This study aims to do this by investigating the views and experiences of 6-8 adult sons recruited from the Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Services under the West London NHS Trust. The participants will take part in semi-structured interviews where they will be asked to discuss their experience of caring and of the psychological support they have received from this service.
The research is part of a self-funded doctorate programme in Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton and is expected to last two years, including recruitment, interviewing, analysis and write-up.
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1439
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion