Anhörigas upplevelser av att vårda närstående med Alzheimers sjukdom i hemmet : En allmän litteraturöversikt

Sammanfattning: Background: Alzheimer´s disease is the most common dementia illness. In Sweden, about 20 000 – 25 000 people are annually diagnosed with Alzheimer´s disease. Accordingly, this number of diagnosed patients is growing each year and so does the cost of care. The symptoms of dementia are often discovered by family members that eventually takes measures as to support and care for their relatives, when they are no longer in condition to take care of themselves. Aim: The purpose was to describe relatives' experiences of caring for their relatives with Alzheimer's disease at home. Method: This study is based on a general literature review consisting of twelve reliable articles that were identified from the databases CINAHL and PubMed and through a qualitative approach. The selection of articles included in the review were quality checked and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged: The need for support and information, impact in daily life and coping with adversity in everyday life. Conclusion: Relatives feel a need for increased understanding and they need support in taking care of their relative. Daily life is adversely affected and the relatives need to develop strategies to cope with adversity in everyday life.