One Day At a Time: How Families Manage the Experience of Dementia

One Day at a Time is potentially a landmark text in understanding care provision needs of families in a changing social context. Its applied and holistic orientation reflects an exceptional level of experiential insight and of scholarship that should ensure both relevance and widespread appeal. This book not only provides readers with a practical theoretical framework, but also incorporates applications that are imaginative, and yet simple to implement. (From the Foreword by Dr. Otto von Mering and Dr. Leon Earle) Dementia attacks not only the body, but in particular the mind and the very personhood of the patient. For family members, the alteration in the person's identity and the loss of a shared past and shared memories is devasting. The purpose of this book is to show how families go about day-to-day living with this condition. Le Navenec and Vonhof provide a holistic view of caring as a reciprocal relationship that involves all members of the family as well as their surrounding social network. The book is intended primarily for professionals, educators, and students in the fields of geriatrics, nursing, rehabilitation, social work, gerontology, family sociology, medical anthropology, and family therapy. Family members who are caring for an older person may also benefit from reading about the experiences of others.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Otto von Mering and Leon Earle Preface Introduction Theoretical Perspectives on Family Caregiving Phases of the Illness Career Styles of Managing Open-style Families with a Solution-oriented Substyle Open-style Families with a Comfort-oriented Substyle Closed-style Families with a Compliance-oriented Substyle Closed-style Families with an Efficiency-oriented Substyle Closed-style Families with a Rehabilitation-oriented Substyle Conclusion Appendix 1: Demographic Profile of Families Appendix 2: Visual Gestalts for Open-style Families Appendix 3: Visual Gestalts for Closed-style Families Glossary Author Index Subject Index

About the Author :
CAROLE-LYNNE LE NAVENEC is an Associate Professor of Family & Community Mental Health Nursing at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary. Her doctoral work was in the areas of Sociology of the Family and Sociology of Mental Health. TINA VONHOF is a researcher and consultant on aging and elder care in Calgary.

Review :
"A very useful book for all professionals and others, wishing to learn about families' experience of dementia. It provides a deeper understanding of the variation and complexity in the ways that families handle this overwhelming life event. It also gives a comprehensive overview of the current level of knowledge in the field, and points out the importance of a family perspective in dementia care. The reader will learn much from this book, through being moved by the sympathetic and detailed narratives of the families' lived experiences. The special knowledge thus gained would be difficult to acquire by means of exclusively theoretical studies."-Christina Salstrom, Assistant Professor Umea University, Sweden "Given the current trend toward community and home care of older people with cognitive impairments, One Day At a Time makes an important contribution to our understanding of caregiving. The keen attention given to both experiences of elders and caregivers provides relevant coping and management strategies for professional practice. It will be required reading for my gerontology classes."- K. Victor Ujimoto, Ph.D. Gerontology Research Centre, University of Guelph "Longitudinal case studies which describe the course of dementia and the resulting challenge and effect on the family support network as well as the formal caregivers are rare. This study provides impressive information and insights. The authors provide the reader with; an exceptional literature review and theoretical framework; vivid and expressive analyses, fascinating case studies with graphic illustrations, advancements of theory; practical guidelines for caregivers and planners. Few academic books provide all that! Many categories in the field of aging, as well as family members caring for a demented, will find deep, new insights."- Gillis Samuelsson, Gerontology Research Center, Lund, Sweden "This important book brings many levels and perspectives together in an attempt to understand and treat dementia: theoretical and practical; professional and client-oriented; objective and subjective; social, family, and individual. As one touching sentence of the book expresses, it aids individuals and families in finding a way out of the black forest' or, at least it helps to shed some light into this dark period of human existence which is increasing with prevalence."- Matti Isohanni, M.D., Ph.D., Head, Professor of Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Finland .,."provides an excellent example of the contributions a qualitative research approach can make to research on family caregiving. In describing how families go about their day-to-day lives with a family member diagnosed with dementia, this clearly written and sensitive book reveals how family members find meaning in the illness experience, how these diverse meanings evoke various types of managing styles, and how these ways of managing dementia change over time."-Contemporary Gerontology ?...provides an excellent example of the contributions a qualitative research approach can make to research on family caregiving. In describing how families go about their day-to-day lives with a family member diagnosed with dementia, this clearly written and sensitive book reveals how family members find meaning in the illness experience, how these diverse meanings evoke various types of managing styles, and how these ways of managing dementia change over time.?-Contemporary Gerontology ?The theoretical framework provides insight into family caregiving of older relatives with dementia. Perspectives of stress, interaction, and effect on family systems are considered... In this well-written book, concepts flow from chapter to chapter... Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.?-Choice "The theoretical framework provides insight into family caregiving of older relatives with dementia. Perspectives of stress, interaction, and effect on family systems are considered... In this well-written book, concepts flow from chapter to chapter... Upper-division undergraduates through professionals."-Choice ..."provides an excellent example of the contributions a qualitative research approach can make to research on family caregiving. In describing how families go about their day-to-day lives with a family member diagnosed with dementia, this clearly written and sensitive book reveals how family members find meaning in the illness experience, how these diverse meanings evoke various types of managing styles, and how these ways of managing dementia change over time."-Contemporary Gerontology