Domiciliary and day care services: Why do people with dementia refuse?

To explore the reasons given for refusal of day services, and to examine the relationship between willingness to accept day services and clinical variables.

Fifty people with dementia who lived alone and had refused day services were interviewed.

The most common reasons for reluctance to attend day services were the belief that they did not need day services, that they liked being on their own, and the belief that they would not enjoy it. People who persistently refused day services tended to have additional worries about meeting new people, losing their independence and being institutionalised. Fifty-four per cent of people with dementia who lived alone and had refused day services scored six or more on the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, suggesting possible presence of major depression.

In patients with dementia who live alone and refuse day services, their misconceptions about day services and possibility of undiagnosed depression need further exploration.