Relatives’ experiences of sharing a written life story about a close family member with dementia who has moved to residential care: An interview study

Abstract

AimThe aim of this study was to describe relatives’ experiences of sharing a written life story about a close family member with dementia who has moved to residential care.DesignAn explorative descriptive qualitative design was used.MethodsThe data were collected using semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of eight relatives and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis.ResultsResults show that creating and sharing the life story of a close family member could help relatives handle grief and stress. It was perceived as an important, yet difficult, task to ensure that the close family member got good quality care. The creation of a meaningful life story takes time and requires cooperation with family members and other significant people.