Carers' experiences of timely access to and use of dementia care services in eight European countriesShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Ageing & Society, ISSN 0144-686X, E-ISSN 1469-1779, Vol. 41, no 2, p. 403-420Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Timely access to care services is crucial to support people with dementia and their family carers to live well. Carers of people with dementia (N = 390), recruited from eight countries, completed semi-structured interviews about their experiences of either accessing or not using formal care services over a 12-month period in the Access to Timely Formal Care (Actifcare) study. Participant responses were summarised using content analysis, categorised into clusters and frequencies were calculated. Less than half of the participants (42.3%) reported service use. Of those using services, 72.8 per cent reported timely access and of those not using services 67.2 per cent were satisfied with this situation. However, substantial minorities either reported access at the wrong time (27.2%), or feeling dissatisfied or mixed feelings about not accessing services (32.8%). Reasons for not using services included use not necessary yet, the carer provided support or refusal. Reasons given for using services included changes in the condition of the person with dementia, the service's ability to meet individual needs, not coping or the opportunity to access services arose. Facilitators and barriers to service use included whether participants experienced supportive professionals, the speed of the process, whether the general practitioner was helpful, participant's own proactive attitude and the quality of information received. To achieve timely support, simplified pathways to use of formal care services are needed.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge University Press, 2021. Vol. 41, no 2, p. 403-420
Keywords [en]
carers, dementia, Europe, formal care, service access
National Category
Health Sciences
Research subject
Health-Promoting Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-30766DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X19001119ISI: 000612424800009Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85072392166OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-30766DiVA, id: diva2:1359673
2019-10-102019-10-102021-02-25Bibliographically approved