Carers Experiences of a Multidisciplinary Nurse Practitioner-Led Memory Clinic.

Abstract

Memory clinics provide ongoing, community-based care for people living with dementia as well as supporting their carers. Much of the research to date has measured quantitative carer outcomes, which may fail to demonstrate the true value of the clinics to carer well-being. Therefore, this paper seeks to understand the carer's role and explore the impacts of a memory clinic on the carers of people living with dementia. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to inform semi-structured interviews with six carers and five clinic staff with direct carer contact. Interviews were audio-recorded and analysed using thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: perceptions of the carer role, psychological well-being and experience of the clinic. Carers experienced the hard work of their caring role and struggled with losing their sense of self and their social networks. The psychological well-being of carers was impacted by feelings of frustration, fatigue, depression and grief. Carers' experiences of the clinic focused on the positive impact resulting from individualised education, respite in a safe space and networking resulting from the memory clinic. The memory clinic was perceived as a valuable support for carers, with individualised support, respite and networking highly regarded. The primary limitations were the challenge of clinic access and the availability of additional clinic days.