"När jag väl har friheten…" : - en kvalitativ studie om anhörigas upplevelse av stöd

• Main Author: Ottenby, Anki
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete - Socialhögskolan 1998
• Subjects: Carers; Caregivers; Dementia; Formal Support; Informal Support; Social support
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-26251

  With this study I wanted to capture the experience of support and increase the knowledge of what it means for women who are living with a husband who suffers from dementia. To do so I conducted four interviews and used an informal questionnaire. The result shows that there are four key words that can symbolize what the women experience as support: communica-tion, freedom, understanding and knowledge. The women’s experience of support range from meaningful and secure to not satisfying and complicated. Living with a husband who suffers from dementia has made their lives very different from before. But even if they sometimes are in a tough situation they want to take care of their husbands. Being able to go away a few hours or half a day once a week, can sometimes be enough and gives the women a sense of satisfaction. On the other hand it is not certain that the support offered is what the women need or that it is satisfactory for the husband. The link between the women’s experience of support and that of their husband is strong. And if the husband is not pleased nor will the wife be.