| 150 integrated care and wellbeing and recommendations concern access to support, case management, pro-active care planning and shared decisionmaking (28). Canada emphasizes quality of life and focuses on access to care, caregiver support and workforce capacity (29). Poland lacks national guidelines but the Polish Alzheimer Association offers assistance through education, public awareness, counselling, and support groups (30). People with dementia and caregivers may set different support priorities according to their cultural context, southern European countries prioritize informal support compared to northern European countries (31). Healthcare providers emphasize the importance of culturally appropriate care (32). Qualitative literature started exploring cross-cultural differences around support, but most international research pays little attention to possible crosscountry differences or similarities (33, 34). Research is needed that examines how people with dementia and caregivers perceive a dementia diagnosis and adapt to post-diagnosis changes whilst considering the comprehensive influence of support, and the country’s social and cultural context. This explorative cross-country qualitative study aims to describe experiences of receiving a dementia diagnosis and experiences of support following dementia diagnosis in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Poland. Materials and methods Study design This cross-country qualitative study is part of the international (Cognisance), a Joint Programme that focuses on improving experiences of people with dementia and caregivers with dementia diagnostic process and postdiagnostic support. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research criteria were used and can be found in the appendices (35). Participants People with dementia living in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, or Poland were deemed eligible if they received a dementia diagnosis (self-reported) in the previous 24 months and could provide informed consent. Caregivers were those who self-identified provided informal care to a person with dementia.
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