‘TAKING IT ONE DAY AT A TIME’: COUPLES NAVIGATING EARLY ALZHEIMER’S

摘要

Given a paucity of support from the welfare state, the lion’s share of care for American seniors with memory loss is shouldered by their spouses who are older themselves. Previous research by Beard and Fox (2008) with 86 individuals who had early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) revealed respondents consciously working to negotiate post-diagnosis identity changes and utilizing various management strategies to reduce the many perceived interactional tensions. Analysis discovered themes of focusing on the positive, being proactive, accepting help, attaining serenity, and employing humor as helpful to managing daily life with AD. The present study was a qualitative investigation of how couples experience early AD collected from 11 community-dwelling spousal dyads (N=22). Grounded theory methodology was used to code and identify themes in narrative data. These data corroborate prior findings in this spousal dyad sample, shedding unique light on how some couples navigate AD together (following Kaplan’s “we/us”) rather than separately (“I/me”). Most dyads approached AD as a shared challenge and were committed to living life as they had previously for as long as possible. Regardless of notions of relationship closeness, however, study participants employed strategies to live life positively with the disease. Despite being a comparatively privileged sample, these data reveal the importance of approaching AD as a coupled or family affair, or a social problem, rather than simply an individual biological issue. It also highlights the importance of person-centered care in meeting families “where they are” in terms of existing relationships and social roles.