[Dementia as experienced by families over three generations]

Abstract

When an individual is affected by dementia, all members of his\her family are involved. Few words about the illness, but mainly silence, are shared between adults (spouses and children) and grandchildren. The suffering of the family hinders the communication between the patient and his\her family, but also within the family. The main topic of this study was to explore what is said and what is not said in three generation families with a patient suffering from dementia: realities and fantaisies about the risk to develop the disease for the descendants, communication between the family and the patient about his\her illness, thoughts, behaviors, demands and needs of the family members. Lastly, the usefulness of written information by books, novels or true stories, has been assessed.