SoCA - Stability of home-based dementia care at the end of life (end-of-life care perspective)

International research mainly assumes that – irrespective of the setting – the care of people living with dementia at the end of life is currently insufficient. While research with regard to palliative care for people living with dementia in institutional settings increased remarkably in the last years, empirical knowledge related to home-based end-of-life care remains scarce. From the perspectives of informal carers as well as professionals in the field of home-based end-of-life care, this subproject aims a) to describe the specificities of the very last phase in the dementia care trajectory, b) to identify factors that influence the stability of home-based care arrangements at the end-of-life, and c) to figure out useful resources, that enable people living with dementia and their informal carers to adequately address their needs and demands throughout the end-of-life phase. For this purpose, guided interviews with people living with dementia, their informal carers as well as professionals in the field of home-based end-of-life care will be analysed by a qualitative content analysis. With this subproject we will gain insight related to end-of-life specific needs and demands, factors that influence the stability of home-based care arrangements at the end of life, as well as desirable professional support services for informal carers. This knowledge can be used in order to develop dementia specific care interventions, which support stable care situations at the end of life for people living with dementia.