| 9 1 dementia. Post-diagnostic support services can address a variety of needs for people living with dementia and informal caregivers, and they should focus on understanding dementia, supporting psychological and emotional wellbeing as well as providing practical support (24). While post-diagnostic support can be beneficial as it can facilitate independence, positively impact quality of life and reduce depression (25-27), accessing this support in a timely and tailored manner remains a significant challenge. After their diagnosis, people with dementia often experience a lack of signposting to support services and informal caregivers struggle to access post-diagnostic support as healthcare systems are complex to navigate (28, 29). Only 50% of informal caregivers of people recently diagnosed with dementia reported they received sufficient information on dementia and support options (30). It has been demonstrated that the current state of post-diagnostic support is often insufficient to address the needs of people with dementia and informal caregivers. Accessing and utilizing post-diagnostic support is a complex process that involves disease-related factors, attitudes towards support and healthcare systems (31). Healthcare professionals play a key role in offering and ensuring the quality of post-diagnostic support for people living with dementia and informal caregivers (32). For example, healthcare professionals’ ability to provide person-centred dementia care is often impacted by a lack of dementia-specific knowledge (33). The role of healthcare professionals in enhancing the experience of post-diagnostic support is widely acknowledged, underpinning their central role in this process (34, 35). Unsurprisingly, postdiagnostic support services may not be able to fulfil all the needs of people with dementia and informal caregivers as unmet needs have been reported even after they have utilized post-diagnostic support services (36-38). Aims and outline of the thesis This thesis aims to increase our understanding of experiences from prediagnosis to post-diagnostic dementia support. To this end, several research methods are used to integrate the perspectives of people living with dementia, informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. Chapters 2 to 7 in this thesis aim to answer the following research questions; What are the preferences of people with memory complaints and their significant others regarding starting a diagnostic trajectory for dementia?
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