Social Representations of Barriers to Care Early in the Careers of Caregivers of Persons With Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

The first signs of cognitive impairment in the elderly generally elicit much concern among family members. Reactions run from denial to the active search for information. Some families manage to set up relatively well-organized networks of informal support to help both caregivers and elderly relatives. However, little is known about the processes underlying the different pathways that families follow at the onset of Alzheimer-type dementia in elderly relatives. To gain a better understanding of barriers to care early in the caregiving career, from the first signs of illness to diagnosis, the authors conducted interviews with 52 caregivers recruited at two cognition clinics. Barriers to help resources were analyzed from the viewpoint of social representations. This approach allowed the consideration of a broad range of individual and group phenomena capable of fashioning caregivers' representations of this period. The results confirmed the importance of the symbolic dimension of experience in steering social practice.

Social representation of Alzheimer's disease for family caregivers: stressful and rewarding

“…In this way, Alzheimer's, as well as other diseases that have a great psychosocial impact, are considered to be family diseases (17)(18) .…”

Reconstructing the Temporal-Relational Context: Trans-Action Patterns of Caregivers of an Ill Relative with Alzheimer's Disease

“…First, we applied a structural approach to social representations in order to reveal network content. Our methods were based on a systematic identification of dimensions drawn from the literature on barriers to, and facilitators of care, which resulted in the definition of 50 dimensions (Carpentier, Ducharme, Kergoat, and Bergman, 2008). These dimensions corresponded to individual and collective factors that we grouped into four categories: structural, relational, cognitive and cultural.…”

Neke odrednice zadovoljstva socijalnom podrškom njegovatelja osoba oboljelih od Alzheimerove bolesti

“…Tu je svakako važno u fokusu imati i povijest susjedstva, institucija i obiteljskih sustava oboljelog i ostalih čla-nova obitelji (Carpentier, 2008.). Postoji distinkcija između »povezujuće« podrške i »nepovezane« podrške, koja se temelji na percepciji njegovatelja oboljelih od demencije u primanju pomoći, tj.…”