Work

“I Just Glove up and Do What Has to Be Done”: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Dementia Care Challenges and Care Management Strategies

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Family care partners for persons living with dementia (PLwD) adopt a variety of care management strategies to navigate care. We utilize a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to integrate family care partners’ descriptions of care challenges and associated management approaches. Primary family care partners for PLwD (n = 100) were interviewed about their management of a care challenge (qualitative), the PLwD’s function, behavior and cognition (quantitative), and their management strategies (qualitative/quantitative). Care challenges and strategies were compared across qualitative content analysis and t-tests. Care partners providing more functional (r = 0.34, p < 0.01) and cognitive (r = 0.30, p < 0.01) care used more active management strategies, whereas care partners providing greater behavioral care (r = 0.34, p < 0.001) reported more criticism, with similar themes seen qualitatively. Active management may be required when dementia severity increases, yet criticism may emerge with greater behavioral severity. Because criticism is associated with more negative outcomes, future interventions should help care partners practice more adaptive behavioral management.

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph23020254

Authors: Amanda N. Leggett, Natasha Nemmers, Sophia Tsuker, Laura N. Gitlin, Helen C. Kales

Institutions: Wayne State University, Drexel University, University of California, Davis

Language: English

Topic: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,016