Taking part in the community occupational therapy in dementia UK intervention from the perspective of people with dementia, family carers and occupational therapists: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim: Community Occupational Therapy in Dementia (COTiD-UK) is a manualised intervention delivered to the person with dementia and their identified family carer primarily in their own home. The focus is on enabling both the person with dementia and their family carer to engage in personally meaningful activities. This qualitative study examines the experiences of people with mild to moderate dementia, their family carers and occupational therapists, of taking part in the COTiD-UK intervention.

Method: A purposive sample of 22 pairs of people with dementia and a family carer and seven occupational therapists took part in semi-structured interviews that were audio recorded, transcribed and inductively analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings: Themes from the occupational therapist interviews relate to the COTiD-UK intervention philosophy and content, aspects of delivering it in practice and thinking ahead to it becoming usual practice. Themes from the pair interviews relate to the focus of COTiD-UK sessions on meaningful occupation and working together and a sense of being able to plan to live well with dementia in the short- and longer-term as a result of the intervention.

Conclusion: This person-centred occupation-focussed intervention was highly valued by people with dementia and their family carers and the occupational therapists delivering it.

Keywords: family carers; interviews; occupational therapy; person with dementia; psychosocial intervention; qualitative.