Discovering life quality in coping with dementia

Using qualitative techniques, data were obtained from 20 informants, comprising 10 caregiving dyads--that is, the caregiver and the spouse diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease in the mild to moderate stages. Processes were identified in caregiving reactions and interactions during implementation of a cognitive remediation intervention designed to disrupt the trajectory of decline in dementia. Of interest was the impact of the implementation process on both the Alzheimer-diagnosed care recipient and the caregiver, as individuals and as a dyad. A four-phase process model of discovering life quality was delineated through analysis of log recordings, interviews and observational notes, and written evaluative responses of the families. The phases that emerged from the data address movement from an initial state of depleted interaction to a regaining of familial life quality.