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Preserving Personhood: (Re)Membering the Spouse with Dementia *
Author(s) -
Perry JoAnn,
O'Connor Deborah
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2002.00055.x
Subject(s) - personhood , spouse , directive , dementia , closeness , perspective (graphical) , psychology , wife , social psychology , sociology , medicine , political science , computer science , law , disease , mathematical analysis , mathematics , pathology , artificial intelligence , anthropology , programming language
Preserving the personhood of one's partner emerged as a guiding directive for spouses caring for a partner with dementia. On the basis of data from open‐ended interviews with 38 husband and wife caregivers, four strategies that facilitate this directive were identified: maintaining continuity, sustaining existing competencies, protecting the partner from incompetence, and strategizing public encounters. From a social constructionist perspective, the focus on preserving the personhood of the partner with dementia promotes more holistic, person‐centered care. However, when examined independently, each of the strategies used to achieve this goal can present both challenges and opportunities for the spouse caregiver.