Study published: How do daughter caregivers of people with dementia experience support?

Exploring support systems

In Sweden, most people with dementia live at home rather than in residential care. Policies aimed at enabling this have also led to greater reliance on informal caregivers. While support is available through formal and informal services, research suggests daughter caregivers often find this support insufficient or poorly tailored to their needs. In this study, the U-CARE researchers have explored how daughter caregivers experience both formal and informal support in their caregiving role.

Interviews reveal mismatched support

The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 daughter caregivers of people living with dementia. Through reflexive thematic analysis, they identified two overarching themes. The first theme, Types of support, described the different forms of support accessed. Peer and informational support were highlighted as particularly important. The second theme, Mismatched support, captured how daughter caregivers often found existing support difficult to navigate and insufficiently tailored to their specific needs and life circumstances.

Implications for future support

U-CARE’s PhD Candidate Oscar Blomberg is the lead author of the study.

– Our findings highlight that adult-daughter caregivers often experience a mismatch between the type of support available and the support they actually need, explains Oscar Blomberg. The results also indicates that tailored support that considers their unique situation is important, and peer support shows promise as a valuable resource.

Miro Anter