Sustaining 'couplehood' : spouses' strategies for living positively with dementia

• This article explores the strategies that spouses use in orderto live positively when one partner has dementia. Data werecollected from 152 interviews with 20 couples conducted overa period of five years. Using a constructivist grounded theorymethodology, data were analysed to capture the main processesinvolved and charted how these changed over time. Three mainphases were identified termed: `sustaining couplehood'; `maintaininginvolvement'; and `moving on', that operated in an iterativerather than linear fashion. The data highlight the very activerole played by both partners, especially in the early stagesof the disease, as they strive to maintain the quality and closenessof their relationship by creating what we term a `nurturativerelational context'. The diverse strategies that the couplesadopt are presented, and the gradual way in which the personwith dementia `hands over' or `let's go' of responsibility totheir partner is described. The article provides several newinsights into the nature of spousal relationships in dementiaand the ways in which they seek to maximize their quality oflife, and, wherever possible, sustain couplehood.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

couplehood

dementia

grounded theory

spousal relationships

Caring sciences

Vårdvetenskap

Older people and ageing

Äldre och åldrande

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)