The experiences of working sons caring for a parent with dementia

Hughes, Sam (2023) The experiences of working sons caring for a parent with dementia. PhD thesis, UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the lived experiences of people living with a diagnosis of dementia or caring for someone with a diagnosis of dementia from a qualitative perspective. It includes a literature review, research paper, critical appraisal and ethics section. The literature review is a meta-synthesis of the experiences of LGBTQ+ people living with or caring for dementia. Data from 8 papers were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach. Three resultant themes were discussed to contextualise the experiences across papers: (1) LGBTQ+ identity in heteronormative environments; (2) Families of origin; and (3) Families of choice. Findings contribute to existing literature by identifying the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and making suggestions for future research. The review makes suggestions for clinical services, emphasising the importance of making services more inclusive as well as discussing therapeutic implications such as cultural competency training. The Research paper explores the experiences of working sons caring for a parent living with dementia. 7 working sons were recruited to the study who acted as primary caregivers to their parent and took part in semi-structured interviews. Their data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and resulted in five themes: (1) A journey into the unknown; (2) The leader of the band; (3) Pride and purpose; (4) “Like all the best comedies, it’s pretty tragic”; and (5) Workplace context matters. Findings contribute to the existing literature by emphasising the impact of the evolution of gender roles in caring, indicating clinical implications and suggesting specific areas worthy of further investigation