Care Setting Transitions for People With Dementia: Qualitative Perspectives of Current and Former Care Partners.
Kate G Radcliffe, Madina Halim, Christine S Ritchie and 2 others
PMID 36730920WHAT IT FOUND
Family care partners wanted early, concrete prognostic guidance about dementia progression to plan home or facility care, and later help finding facilities or home resources.
These are reported experiences, not evidence that guidance improves outcomes.
Key findings
01Current care partners wanted prognostic information about disease stage and life expectancy to anticipate care needs and make home or facility plans.
02Former care partners wanted concrete suggestions about facilities and the timing for institutionalization.
03Former care partners who kept the person with dementia at home until death described needing private caregivers, medical equipment, home hospice, and home-based medical care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, with 31 care partners, and was mostly white, high-income, highly educated English-speaking spouses or partners, so findings may not transfer to more diverse families. The participants were recruited from a tertiary memory clinic, so experiences may not represent broader community dementia care. It was a secondary analysis of interviews originally collected for palliative care intervention development, so care setting was not the primary focus. Only unpaid family caregivers were included, excluding paid or professional caregivers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that provider guidance reduces caregiver burden or improves dementia care. It only reports what 31 mostly white, high-income family care partners said they wanted.