Author(s)

Laila Mohrsen Busted¹, Dorthe S. Nielsen², Regner Birkelund³

¹The Department of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
²The Health Sciences Research Center, UCL University College, Odense, Denmark.
³Migrant Health Clinic, Odense University Hospital, Center for Global Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate family members’ experience of engaging in the “Family Health Conversations” intervention. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with 15 family members who engaged in the intervention. The study used semi-structured interviews and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Through analysis and interpretation of the data, three themes were identified: 1) Support for navigating in unknown waters; 2) Bringing peace and relief to the family; 3) Involving the relative with dementia in Family Health Conversations. Family Health Conversations showed were beneficial to the families of persons with dementia and of great importance to both individual family members and the family. Involving the person with dementia in the Family Health Conversations was not always beneficial for the family. Conclusion: Deciding when to involve the person with dementia in Family Health Conversations requires thorough knowledge of the family as well as the person with dementia, to avoid excluding them. The intervention supports retaining selfhood and autonomy for the person with dementia, even when the individual did not participate in the conversation.

Family Health Conversations, Dementia Care, Family Members

Busted, L. , Nielsen, D. and Birkelund, R. (2019) The Importance of Bringing the Family Together. Exploring the Experience and Meaning of Family Health Conversations in Dementia Care. Open Journal of Nursing, 9, 1153-1172. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2019.911085.