Dementia caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of caregivers' experiences.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the lived experience of informal dementia caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed. Eight primary informal caregivers were recruited from a community mental health service for older people when attending in their role as caregiver of a service-user. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at home or in the clinic based on the participants' convenience and preference. IPA was completed following Smith and colleagues framework for analysis.

RESULTS

Six group experiential themes, each with a number of subthemes, emerged from the cross-case interpretative analysis: the ambivalent experience of caregiving (subtheme: ); navigating lockdown: lived challenges and opportunities (subthemes: , , , and ); transitioning out of lockdown (subthemes: and ); the present with COVID-19, but mostly with dementia (subthemes: , and ); looking into the future (subthemes: and ); and a word on coping (subtheme: ).

CONCLUSION

Findings demonstrate the significance of the meaning caregivers ascribed to their experiences on their wellbeing and ability to cope in times of COVID-19 and thereafter. Gaining an understanding of the caregivers' unique experiences is crucial to appreciate how to best support them.