Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience

Purpose Being of working age while at the same time needing to help a partner with young onset dementia has specific consequences for spouses. Research to date has been sparse concerning this particular group of spouses. The aim of the study was to explore spouses’ everyday experiences when living w...

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Main Authors: Tania Håkansson, Hilda Svensson, Staffan Karlsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2330233
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author Tania Håkansson
Hilda Svensson
Staffan Karlsson
author_facet Tania Håkansson
Hilda Svensson
Staffan Karlsson
author_sort Tania Håkansson
collection DOAJ
description Purpose Being of working age while at the same time needing to help a partner with young onset dementia has specific consequences for spouses. Research to date has been sparse concerning this particular group of spouses. The aim of the study was to explore spouses’ everyday experiences when living with a person with young onset dementia. Method The study had a descriptive qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with nine spouses. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. Result The interviewed spouses experienced emotions that varied from feelings of loneliness, frustration, and worry to peace of mind. They said that they used coping strategies, which included adopting a positive mindset, adapting to inabilities, adopting an avoidant approach, and finding ways to recharge. Spouses also felt that they could use more support, both formal and informal. Conclusion The spouse of a person with young onset dementia has a range of emotional experiences and has resourceful ways of handling everyday life. Various types of support are offered to spouses, however, they seemed to desire more from health care services.
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spelling doaj-art-90e4a34abe9d4b6aaea3395700cdace52025-08-20T01:55:38ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312024-12-0119110.1080/17482631.2024.23302332330233Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experienceTania Håkansson0Hilda Svensson1Staffan Karlsson2Halmstad UniversityHalmstad UniversityHalmstad UniversityPurpose Being of working age while at the same time needing to help a partner with young onset dementia has specific consequences for spouses. Research to date has been sparse concerning this particular group of spouses. The aim of the study was to explore spouses’ everyday experiences when living with a person with young onset dementia. Method The study had a descriptive qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with nine spouses. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. Result The interviewed spouses experienced emotions that varied from feelings of loneliness, frustration, and worry to peace of mind. They said that they used coping strategies, which included adopting a positive mindset, adapting to inabilities, adopting an avoidant approach, and finding ways to recharge. Spouses also felt that they could use more support, both formal and informal. Conclusion The spouse of a person with young onset dementia has a range of emotional experiences and has resourceful ways of handling everyday life. Various types of support are offered to spouses, however, they seemed to desire more from health care services.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2330233young onset dementiaeveryday lifespouseexperienceemotional impact
spellingShingle Tania Håkansson
Hilda Svensson
Staffan Karlsson
Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
young onset dementia
everyday life
spouse
experience
emotional impact
title Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
title_full Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
title_fullStr Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
title_full_unstemmed Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
title_short Living with a person with young onset dementia – spousal experience
title_sort living with a person with young onset dementia spousal experience
topic young onset dementia
everyday life
spouse
experience
emotional impact
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2330233
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