| 225 Chapter 4 employs surveys to explore how people with dementia and informal caregivers perceive support following a dementia diagnosis. Up to one-third of people with dementia and informal caregivers are dissatisfied with information about management and prognosis, and strategies for living positively. People with dementia and informal caregivers prioritize different aspects of support. People with dementia tend to value living well with dementia whereas informal caregivers focus more on information and access to care. Chapters 5 and 6 describe the development and use of a qualitative method to increase our understanding of people with dementia and informal caregivers’ experiences of support following a diagnosis in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Poland. Chapter 5 discusses the development of a qualitative method for people with dementia called ‘projective technique and demonstrates that this approach is feasible, meaningful and manageable for people with dementia. Chapter 6 explores and compares experiences of support following a dementia diagnosis across Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Poland. Across countries, coming to terms with the diagnosis is a complex and emotional process. Post-diagnostic support and support from the social network play a key role in this. Informal caregivers are prone to experience burden. People focus on maintaining current health whilst planning the future. Despite differences in healthcare and post-diagnostic support systems, there are more similarities across countries than differences. Chapter 7 investigates caregiver burden. Interviews with informal caregivers and social care workers in the UK examine the relationship between burden experienced by informal caregivers and the use of social care services for the person with dementia. Whilst social care can reduce burden, it strongly depends on whether informal caregivers had positive or negative experiences in accessing and using social care. Person-centered care, the perceived communication skills and knowledge of social care workers contribute to informal caregivers’ positive and negative experiences with using social care. Social care workers highlight the balance between workload and available time as a barrier to being able to address caregiver burden. Chapter 8 integrates and summarizes the main findings from Chapters 2 – 7 and discusses methodological considerations and implications.
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