EXPLORING FORMAL DEMENTIA CARE AMONG FIRST NATIONS IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY

• Main Author: Finkelstein, Sara A.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Scholarship@Western 2010
• Subjects: dementia care; First Nations health; knowledge sharing; grounded theory; First Nations
• Online Access: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3881; https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/context/digitizedtheses/article/7697/viewcontent/Formal_Dementia_Care_Among_First_Nations_OCR.pdf

This research aimed to understand how formal dementia care is being provided to First Nations communities. This was achieved by conducting in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and then qualitatively analyzing the data using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Results indicated that numerous barriers impede dementia care delivery, including lacking resources, difficulties collaborating among healthcare providers, encountering mistrust, and persons with dementia (PWD) not accessing care. However, numerous care strategies were identified, many of which serve to directly overcome these barriers. Many aspects of care delivery hinged upon effective knowledge sharing between healthcare providers, PWD, informal care providers, and the First Nations community. Future research needs to incorporate the perspectives of First Nations PWD and their informal care providers, to broaden our understanding of this process. Going forward, healthcare providers and administrators should focus on creating a body of First Nations-specific dementia care literature and other culturally appropriate care resources.