It's been a good move - transitions into care : family caregivers', persons' with dementia, and formal staff members' experiences of specialist care unit placement

Abstract

Specialist care units (SCUs) are segregated purpose-built long-term care (LTC) settings specifically designed to cater for the complex needs of people with dementia (PwDs). Whilst beneficial outcomes of these units for PwDs, family caregivers (PCs) and staff have been demonstrated in quantitative research, qualitative research reporting in-depth on such experiences is largely neglected. This is particularly true in Ireland. Little is known about why and how the placement decision is made, how news of the transfer is communicated to PwDs, what PwDs' and PCs' experiences are of adapting to SCUs immediately after placement, what their more long-term adaptation experiences are, and what staffs experiences are of deciding about new admissions. This thesis set out to explore these issues in-depth.