'Too young to sit at home': a qualitative study conducted among employees with young-onset dementia and their relatives.
Publication year
2024Source
Aging & Mental Health, 28, 8, (2024), pp. 1119-1128ISSN
Annotation
01 augustus 2024
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Primary and Community Care
Journal title
Aging & Mental Health
Volume
vol. 28
Issue
iss. 8
Page start
p. 1119
Page end
p. 1128
Subject
Primary and Community Care - Radboud University Medical CenterAbstract
OBJECTIVES: Young-onset dementia (YOD) symptoms often first present in the workplace, resulting in work performance challenges and eventually loss of employment. This study aims to investigate the experiences, work values, and support needs of employees with YOD and their relatives. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the experiences, work values, and support needs of (former) employees with YOD and their relatives. Subsequently, separate focus group discussions were conducted for employees and relatives to review and prioritize interview findings. Inductive thematic analysis was applied to both datasets. RESULTS: A total of 15 interviews (six employees; nine relatives) and four focus group discussions (ten employees; six relatives) were conducted. Six themes emerged, with five revolving around the central theme: desire to work. The other themes represent essential contributing factors, including importance of receiving a YOD diagnosis; knowledge, awareness, and understanding regarding YOD; open communication, joint decision making, and collaboration; work adjustments, involvement, and support; phasing out work and future perspectives. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight a strong desire to work post-YOD diagnosis, serving as a foundation for developing workplace support tools and guidance. This has the potential to help individuals with YOD preserve their self-confidence and identity while working within their capabilities.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [246515]
- Electronic publications [134102]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [93308]
- Open Access publications [107633]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.