Care-givers' perspectives of occupational engagement of persons with dementia

Abstract

Meaningful engagement in activity plays a significant role in the maintenance of health and wellbeing. Even individuals at the more advanced stages of dementia still have an innate need for activity participation. The purpose of this study was to examine caregivers' perception of occupational performance of their relatives with dementia from 3 aspects: person; occupation; and environment. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 family caregivers. Caregivers were also asked to document the activity patterns of their relative, using the Activity Card Sort Hong Kong version (ACS-HK). The ACS-HK findings suggested that high-demand leisure activities, such as swimming and walking, were mostly retained (61%), while instrumental activities of daily living were the least retained (37%). Qualitative analysis revealed that caregivers' perception of activity participation was intertwined with their motives and behaviours to get their relatives engaged in activities. They acknowledged occupational engagement as a means of maintaining wellness and used various strategies to encourage their relative's activity participation. Apathy and passivity, however, are difficult to deal with. Also, activity decisions appear to depend on the availability of support resources and a balance between safety concern and risk-taking. There is therefore a need to provide caregivers with resources and suggestions to support their relative's continued engagement in activities.