Are the assessment and service provision needs of black African and afro-Caribbean older women living in UK with dementia culturally met?

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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ABSTRACT

The problem of denial of care is what all social workers should be familiar with in their work with demented people. Dementia is a syndrome which is usually caused as a result of a chronic or progressive brain disorder with disturbance of multiple higher cortical functions, including memory; thinking; orientation, and comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and discernment. The Afro-Caribbean people, especially women are being neglected proper healthcare services. The discriminatory practices in the provision of dementia care continue to haunt the African Caribbean people even today. This paper presents a literature review on the assessment and service provision needs of black African and afro-Caribbean older women.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI

DECLARATIONII

ABSTRACTIII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement3

Purpose of the Study4

Aims and Objectives4

Research Questions4

Rationale of the Study5

Significance of the Study5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Theoretical Framework7

Dementia8

The Afro-Caribbean Experience9

Caregivers and Disruptive Behaviours15

Afro-Caribbean and Dementia Caregiving Services18

CAHPTER 3: METHODOLOGY20

Research Method20

Rationale for a Qualitative Study21

Literature Search22

Participants22

Data Collection23

Instrumentation23

Qualitative Analysis24

Reliability and Validity27

Ethical Considerations28

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION30

Demographics30

Analysis of Interview Questionnaire30

Cultural Influences in Caregiving Practices among Caregivers of British Caribbean Women30

Differences and Similarities in Health and Well Being32

Culture and Coping in Help Seeking Responses32

Correlation between Findings and Literature Review33

Discussion36

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION40

Summary of Findings40

Conclusions42

Limitations43

Implications of the Study44

Recommendations45

REFERENCES47

APPENDIX - A51

INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE51

APPENDIX - B52

UNSTRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE52

APPENDIX - C68

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS68

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Dementia can be classified as an organic mental syndrome (Yaffe, 2009, 121). Organic psychological syndrome was defined as a constellation of cognitive, behavioural, and emotional symptoms resulting from underlying factors (Whall, 2007, 286). Interdisciplinary team members emphasise the importance of differential diagnostic criteria in the evaluation of dementia to provide essential information during treatment planning. Herein, we review the differential diagnoses, etiologies, functional implications of the disease process, and advances in health care delivery to assist the reader in establishing a common knowledge base for all interdisciplinary team members.

Dementia has been described as having a biological etiology characterised by cognitive deficits (Unverzagt, 2006, 134). Specifically, Alzheimer's disease results in general atrophy of the cerebral cortex as neurons are lost. The cerebellum, spinal cord, and sensory areas of the cortex are less involved (Neale et al., 1996). Although dementia is a disorder without localised brain damage, subcortical, cortical, mixed, frontal, and temporoparietal dementia are terms used to characterise common deficits that are correlated with artificial brain pathology.

Caregiving for an elderly family member or close friend with dementia has long been recognised to put a caregiver at high risk for a number ...