ArticleInternational journal of older people nursing2020
The value of "us"-Expressions of togetherness in couples where one spouse has dementia.
Article in International journal of older people nursing, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Influential factors of spousal relationship quality in couples living with dementia - A narrative synthesis systematic review.Dementia (London, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring the experiences and needs in everyday life of spouse carers of persons with dementia.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- An Ecological and Processual Understanding of Family Resilience in Dementia: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Review
- 'I do Things that I don't Really Want to do …': Understanding the Everyday Lives of Family Carers of People With Dementia.Dementia (London, England) · 2026Article
- Extraordinary abilities, creativity, and love, in the path of dementia: a perspective article on the Walking the Talk for Dementia 2025 initiative.Frontiers in dementia · 2026Article
- "I Aim to Fulfill My Promise": Dementia Caregiving from the Perspective of Spouses and Partners.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2025Observational
- Characteristics of Informal Caregivers and Social Participation of People With Dementia.The Gerontologist · 2024Article
- Investigating the Readability and Linguistic, Psychological, and Emotional Characteristics of Digital Dementia Information Written in the English Language: Multitrait-Multimethod Text Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- The Spousal Unit and Dementia: Investigating the Relational Basis of the Couplehood Concept.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Influence of Home-Based Music Therapy Interventions on Relationship Quality in Couples Living with Dementia-An Adapted Convergent Mixed Methods Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Home-based music therapy for persons with dementia and their spouses as primary caregivers.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Supporting the couple relationship following dementia diagnosis: A scoping review.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Framing dementia experiences in a positive light: Conversational practices in one couple living with dementia.Dementia (London, England) · 2022Article
- Family caregivers' perspectives on their interaction and relationship with people living with dementia in a nursing home: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Negative Impact and Positive Value of Caregiving in Spouse Carers of Persons with Dementia in Sweden.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The COVID-19 pandemic as experienced by the spouses of home-dwelling people with dementia - a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- A comparison of spouse and non-spouse carers of people with dementia: a descriptive analysis of Swedish national survey data.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- The value of "us"-Expressions of togetherness in couples where one spouse has dementia.International journal of older people nursing · 2020Article
- Lost in Transition: Community-Dwelling Partners' Stories of Losing a Spouse to Cognitive Decline and Long-Term Care Facilities.Gerontology & geriatric medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLiving with dementia involves both illness and health, and self-care and care from others. As most persons with dementia live in their own homes, dementia affects not only the person with the disease, but also family, commonly the partner. Research shows that spousal carers feel as though they are losing their partners since they can no longer share thoughts, feelings and experiences as a couple.
aimThe aim of the study was to describe the sense of togetherness of the spouses when one spouse has dementia.
methodThe sample consists of 18 recorded conversations between 15 persons with dementia and their spouses. The filmed conversations were transcribed verbatim and then analysed using qualitative content analysis.
findingsOne overarching theme arose: Dementia preserved and challenged the value of "us." It can be challenging for a couple in which one partner has dementia to preserve a sense of togetherness and to have the relationship they wish for.
conclusionBased on our results, we suggest that practitioners should help couples to strengthen their bond as a couple so as to maintain a sense of well-being. Future studies should examine couplehood under differing conditions, such as long- versus short-term relationships. Prior relationship quality may also be a factor that influences the sense of couplehood following a serious health challenge, such as dementia. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: When spouses were able to live together, their relationship was enriched at many levels. Their love for each other strengthened them as a unit - as an "us" - where togetherness seemed to be strong. Future studies need to examine whether the sense of couplehood varies depending on the length of the relationship (i.e., a relationship of many years or a relatively new relationship).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.