Study published: What helps and what hinders engagement with a psychological intervention for people with dementia?
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
In a recently published study in BMC Geriatrics, researchers from U-CARE explore what people with dementia and their informal caregivers see as barriers and facilitators to taking part in a psychological support programme. The study focuses on a guided low-intensity behavioural activation programme aiming to address depression in people with dementia, a common but often untreated condition.
Understanding barriers and facilitators
While people with dementia often experience depression, few receive psychological treatment. One possible solution is a guided, low-intensity behavioural activation programme, where individuals are guided and supported in engaging in meaningful activities. To maximize the chances that such interventions can work in real-world settings, the researchers set out to understand what helps and what hinders the implementation, from the perspectives of people with dementia and their informal caregivers.
Interviews highlight real-world challenges and opportunities
The researchers interviewed 27 individuals, 8 people with dementia and 19 informal caregivers. Using a framework called ‘Normalization Process Theory’, they analysed how participants perceived the programme and what they thought would help or hinder its use. Barriers included extensive programme materials, symptoms of dementia, and lacking acceptance of the diagnosis. Facilitators included seeing a clear need for psychological support, understanding and agreeing to the programme’s purpose, intervention guide’s expertise in dementia care, and the importance of a trusting, face-to-face relationship with the intervention guide.
PhD Candidate Frida Svedin
Informing future implementation
– For us, it’s important to involve both people living with dementia and their informal caregivers early in the development process. By doing so, we can design an intervention that works in a real world setting and provides support to those living with dementia and their loved ones, explains the study’s lead author, Frida Svedin.
Miro Anter
Link to the article
Read the paper 'People with dementia and informal caregivers’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to implementing a behavioral activation intervention: a qualitative study using Normalization Process Theory'. It is written by Frida Svedin, Oscar Blomberg, Anders Brantnell, Paul Farrand, Louise von Essen, Anna Cristina Åberg, and Joanne Woodford.