Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA.
Qual Health Res. 2021 Jul;31(8):1448-1458. doi: 10.1177/10497323211004105. Epub 2021 Apr 9.
Some Nigerians, in their effort to make sense of dementia symptoms, use descriptions that may stigmatize people with dementia and their families. This qualitative descriptive study focused on the everyday understanding of dementia and the impact of stigma on the caregiving experiences of informal female Nigerian dementia caregivers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 adult informal female caregivers in Nigeria and analyzed for themes. Afterward, results were presented to focus groups of 21 adult Nigerians residing in the United States for more contextual insight on the findings. The three major themes were misconceptions about dementia symptoms, caregiving protects against stigmatization, and stigma affects caregiving support. Overall, we argue that knowledge deficit, poor awareness, and traditional spiritual beliefs combine to drive dementia-related stigmatization in Nigeria. Strategies such as culturally appropriate dementia awareness campaigns and formal long-term care policies are urgently needed to help strengthen informal dementia caregiving in Nigeria.
一些尼日利亚人在努力理解痴呆症症状时，使用的描述可能会污名化痴呆症患者及其家属。本定性描述性研究关注痴呆症的日常理解以及污名对尼日利亚非正式女性痴呆症照顾者的照顾体验的影响。采用目的抽样法，在尼日利亚对 12 名成年非正式女性照顾者进行了半结构式访谈，并对主题进行了分析。之后，将结果呈现给居住在美国的 21 名成年尼日利亚人焦点小组，以更深入了解研究结果的背景。三个主要主题是对痴呆症症状的误解、照顾可以预防污名化以及污名化影响照顾支持。总的来说，我们认为知识缺陷、意识淡薄和传统的精神信仰共同导致了尼日利亚与痴呆症相关的污名化。迫切需要采取文化上适当的痴呆症宣传活动和正式的长期护理政策等策略，以帮助加强尼日利亚的非正式痴呆症护理。
