Date
5-16-2024
Department
School of Communication and the Arts
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (PhD)
Chair
Marie Mallory
Keywords
dementia, caregiving, health communication, theory of motivated information management, social support theory, phenomenology, Global Deterioration Scale (GDS)
Disciplines
Communication | Communication Sciences and Disorders
Recommended Citation
Alig, Sara J., "Using the Motivated Information Management Theory and the Social Support Theory to Understand Caregiver Perspectives of Currently Available Health Communication Regarding Dementia: A Qualitative Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5509.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5509
Abstract
Dementia brings a cascade of changes into the life of not only the person facing it, but also the lives of the supporting family and caregivers. Dementia manifests with a gradual decline, or in some cases, a variably progressive decline in cognitive abilities. This decline requires the individual to rely more and more on caregivers. Caregiving necessitates the giving of oneself for another’s sake and oftentimes results in negative physical and social-emotional side effects. To navigate through the changes that are happening to their loved ones, as well as to themselves, caregivers need educational and social support. The purpose of this communication research was to seek the perspectives of adults in the Ohio Valley who are caring for their parents with dementia, regarding their experiences with searches for dementia health communication. The theory of motivated information management and the social support theory were the guiding frameworks in understanding these perspectives. Qualitative methods included a social constructivist, phenomenological approach as the ontological lens through which the researcher looked for themes in data taken from semi-structured interviews. Findings of this study specifically pointed out that current health communication regarding dementia may not contain enough relatable information about dementia staging. Six themes emerged from this study including: 1. Brain changes motivate searches for more dementia health communication. 2. Perceived breakdowns happen in certain trajectories of health communication regarding dementia. 3. Avenues of in-person dementia support/resources are better one-on-one. 4. Avenues of online dementia support/resources are variable. 5. Caregiver perspectives of what they know about dementia align with the literature. 6. Communication changes with parents after dementia.
