That mr. Alzheimer… you never know what he’s up to, but what about me? A discourse analysis of how Swedish spouse caregivers can make their subject positions understandable and meaningful

ABSTRACT

The spouses of people suffering from dementia are commonly first-in-line caregivers. This can have a considerable effect on their own lives, health and marriages. Several studies have focused on spouses’ experiences, but very few have focused in any depth on their descriptions of themselves as subjects. Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe how spouse caregivers can express themselves when living with and caring for their partners with dementia. The study has a qualitative approach with a discourse analysis design and uses analytical tools such as rhetoric, subject positions and categorization. The results reveal three subject positions: as an actor, as a parent and as a survivor. The results show that as spouses struggle with external and internal clashes as subjects, they therefore need to develop coping strategies. They also experience pronounced loneliness and a risk to their own health. There is thus a need to support these spouses as individuals in their differing and changing needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Alzheimer’s
• caregiving
• discourse analysis
• dementia
• experience
• interviews
• subject positions
• spouses
• qualitative

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

None.

Notes on contributors

Annica Lövenmark

Annica Lövenmark is Registered Nurse, Phd and Lecturer. Her research focus on discourse analysis as method; subject positions, ideological dilemmas, interpretative repertoires and rhetoric analysis as analytic tools. She do research about the construction of knowledge in different context as sustainable working life, higher education and people’s daily life. [email protected]

Martina Summer Meranius

Martina Summer Meranius is Registered Nurse and Senior lecturer. Her research focus is on older people with multimorbidity, their experience of health and the health care system. Another great interest is person-centred care and communication as well as care of older persons with dementia and their relatives. [email protected]

Lena Marmstål Hammar

Lena Marmstål Hammar is a Registered Nurse and Associate ?Professor. Her research focus on the older persons in our society, and concerned persons with dementia, their relatives, and caregivers. She also conducts research about singing (caregivers singing) and music as non-pharmacological treatments in dementia care. Her research also focuses on instrument development for communication between spouses in dementia care. [email protected]