The Experience of Older Adults with Dementia who Live Alone.

The Experience of Older Adults with Dementia who Live Alone.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and mixed dementia affect an increasing number of
older women who live alone. The Alzheimer's Society projected that one-third of dementia
patients were living alone in the last decade. Research on how these people maintain their
identities and live with dementia has been lacking, despite this. As a result of this study,
researchers were able to understand better the experiences of women with dementia who live
alone and how they manage day-to-day life without the support of others. Women aged 75 to 95
with Alzheimer's disease and mixed vascular dementia were surveyed in a study conducted in
England. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, issues relating to loss, embodiment,
adaptability, awareness, safety, relationships, exclusion, and loneliness emerged. It was common
for most women to be widowed; many lamented the loss of both their spouses and the lives they
had had before their husbands' deaths (Westwood, 2016). A person's inability to care for oneself
was the most important effect of memory loss. But the women were actively involved in
rebuilding their sense of self, using a range of coping mechanisms. Attendance in memory
groups and close ties with neighbors and friends were vital. As a result, a drive for self-
protection and a desire to find meaningful connections were evident.

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Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Introduction 3
Background 4
Works of Literature 4
Methods of Investigation 9
Findings 10
Conclusion 11
References 12

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Research Question: How long do older women with dementia manage to live alone, and could a
care dilemma force others to step in?

Introduction

An estimate by the Alzheimer's Society from more than a decade ago claimed that one-
third of persons with dementia lived alone. Despite this, little study has been conducted to
determine how these people maintain their identities and live with dementia due to their
condition. A generational shift is taking place in society, with the number of persons aged 60 and
older expected to more than quadruple by 2050, an unprecedented pace in human history. A
growing number of elderly individuals in industrialized and developing nations choose to live
alone globally (Westwood, 2016). This study is significant because the living arrangements of
elderly individuals directly impact their overall quality of life, especially when such women stay
alone with dementia.
Dementia is a "serious health concern that threatens the capacity of older individuals to
age in place or to live freely in their communities," according to the Alzheimer's Association.
The well-being of older individuals with dementia who live alone is an important worldwide
concern in social services. Caring for these elderly persons becomes an ethical challenge due to
balancing worries about their safety and their rights to independence. It is critical to understand
what it means to live alone with dementia as a nurse because it will help you perform evaluations
that are attentive to the needs of these older individuals and will influence your nursing advocacy
on their behalf (Eriksen et al., 2016). However, fulfilling these responsibilities may be difficult
since little is known about the experience of older individuals with dementia who live alone,
making it difficult to provide guidance.

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Background

It has been largely via quantitative study that the risks and challenges faced by older
women who live alone have been studied. A key worldwide community care challenge is how to
strike a balance between their safety and their autonomy. A qualitative study on the subject has
largely ignored the perspectives of older individuals living alone with dementia (Cloutier &
Penning, 2017). In recent years, a significant corpus of qualitative research has been conducted
to examine dementia from the viewpoint of the individual who has been diagnosed. Research on
the early stages of dementia and cognitive impairment has focused on coping techniques, the
process of living with dementia, and characteristics of the condition, such as the experience that
one has of forgetting, among other subjects.
Through pension and government regulations relating to labor force participation and
retirement, it has historically been established that persons are considered 'old' when they reach
65 years of age (Cloutier & Penning, 2017)