What do families affected by dementia need?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What do families need? A thematic analysis exploring the needs of families affected by dementia.
IRAS ID
321113
Contact name
Sophie Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Dementia is becoming more prominent in the UK with one in fourteen people over 65 being affected by the disease. Dementia not only impacts the individual that receives the diagnosis, but also impacts family members, and spouses or adult children often take on additional caring responsibilities. The effects of caring for someone with dementia are widely documented and often burnout and strain lead to decreased well-being for the individual with dementia and the carer and often leads to premature admission to care homes. There is clear guidance for clinicians on the diagnosis and treatment of dementia for both the individual with dementia and carers, but little is documented about family interventions to support all members of the family. Research has highlighted the benefits of family therapy for individuals with dementia and their families, however, further research is needed to understand how family therapy can be used to maximise family resources and reduce carer burnout and improve wellbeing for the individual with dementia.
The proposed project aims to further explore (1) the challenges that families affected by dementia experience, (2) determine the support that families affected by dementia feel would be beneficial and (3) draw conclusions based on themes that could be used to develop an effective family intervention.
Individuals with dementia and their family members will be recruited through Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley Memory Services (Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust), and interviewed using a semi-structured protocol to elicit information about their experiences of dementia, the challenges of this and what they would like to support them as a family. Interviews will last approximately 1 hour, and interviews will be transcribed verbatim. Meaningful information across the data will then be identified and grouped into themes using Thematic Analysis (Braune & Clarke, 2006).
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0278
Date of REC Opinion
21 Feb 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion