Views on dementia (Project name "Demenzbilder")
Project overview
| Project duration | 01.05.2023 – 30.04.2025 |
| Project funding | third-party funded, Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft e.V. |
| Project partner | Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) |
Contact
Prof. Dr. Jochen René Thyrian, Dipl.-Psych.
Group Leader
rene.thyrian(at)dzne.de
+49 3834 86-7592
Background
Individual beliefs and attitudes toward aging (views on aging) and chronic illnesses (health belief models/ illness perceptions) have become constructs of interest in gerontological research in the last years. Yet, there is lack of research on “views on dementia” in informal caregivers of people with dementia. It is to be expected that views on dementia have a significant effect on the physical and mental well-being, coping skills of caregivers and their utilization of support programs.
Goals
Our goals are to conduct (a) a scoping review, (b) a semi-structured interview and (c) an online survey of informal caregivers to examine gaps in the literature and identify stereotypical views on dementia in family caregivers of people with dementia. Further, we want to present preliminary results on associations between views on dementia and disease factors, utilization of support programs and caregiver burden. These results will contribute to meeting the individual needs of informal caregivers and thus, influence health care of people with dementia.
Procedure
This project entails three work packages and three different research designs:
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We will conduct a scoping review to analyze the current state of evidence regarding views on dementia in informal caregivers. We will systematically search databases and include relevant articles. The search strategy is based on theories regarding “views on aging”, “illness perceptions”, “coping skills” and “attitudes”. The results will be reported in accordance with the PRISMA-guidelines.
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Based on the results of the scoping review, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with family caregivers of people with dementia in order to validate and add to the identified views on dementia. Additionally, a model will be build apon those and discussed/ finalized in an interdisciplinary expert group.
- Informal caregivers will be questioned via an online survey to evaluate their individual situation and validate the model. Finally, the impact of views on dementia on the health care situation should be examined.