Dementia as Neither Hidden nor Defining: Identity, Group Belonging, and Wellbeing in Day-Care Centres

In this study we investigate day-care centres as a form of community-based support designed to facilitate ageing in place for individuals with dementia, with the goal of delaying or preventing their transition to institutional care. Day-care centres provide structured activities designed to alleviate loneliness and isolation, affirm personal identity, and offer respite for family caregivers. In Sweden - the context of this research - some 16,000 older adults with dementia attend day-care centres. Our aim is to explore how individuals with dementia experience day-care centres, and to examine the types of identities that are made possible and enacted within this setting. The empirical material consists of 14 qualitative interviews conducted across six day-care centres located in two Swedish cities. The participants were 8 women and 6 men, aged between 60 and 90. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings showed that participants viewed the day-care centres as accepting, non-demanding environments, in contrast to the more problematic identities they encountered in ordinary life. While participants acknowledged dementia as a shared condition and expressed their appreciation that they were part of a community where others also experienced memory difficulties, there was little effort to cultivate a collective identity centred on dementia. Participants seldom shared personal information with one another and generally deferred to staff to decide about group activities. Although their limited self-disclosure might suggest a lack of opportunity for deeper engagement, an alternative interpretation is that the group setting enabled participants to maintain an identity as competent social actors - individuals capable of navigating and adapting to the social expectations of the group. We thus highlight the nuanced ways in which day-care centres can support personhood and social participation among people living with dementia.