Exploring the impact of traumatic experiences in people living with dementia: Implications for trauma informed dementia care

An experience in your life that makes you feel seriously scared, upset or distressed may be considered to be traumatic. Some examples of things that may be considered to be traumatic include serious accidents, physical and sexual abuse, assault, natural disasters and war. Traumatic experiences can seriously impact someone’s life, and a person who has experienced trauma may have different needs and sensitivities when accessing health care.

The overarching purposes and aims of this project are:

• To examine how traumatic experiences and a diagnosis of dementia interact, in order to provide a significant contribution to the limited knowledge surrounding these interactions.
• To investigate how traumatic experiences impact the experience of dementia, providing and receiving a dementia diagnosis, and dementia care, from the perspectives of clinicians, family carers, and people living with dementia.

Participation in this research involves taking part in an interview (approx 1 hour). Ideally, interviews will be held face to face however participants will be given the option to choose between a video call or an in person interview. 

This research will focus on 3 groups who meet the following criteria; 

Group One

• People living with dementia OR self-identify as having thought or memory impairment/problem or dementia. 
• have a history of experiencing trauma.
• aged over 18 years old
• have accessed at least part of their care in clinic, hospital or community based settings in Victoria, Australia.

Group Two

• Informal carers of a person with suspected or confirmed dementia and a history of psychological trauma
• may or may not be related to the person living with dementia that they care for
• must not have been paid or formally employed for their care (this does not include the receipt of government benefits or allowances, donations, funding from community organisations).
• have provided at least six-months of care whilst the care recipient was still living in the community in Victoria, Australia.

Group Three:

• Clinicians and professionals working in clinic, hospital or community based settings involved in the assessment, management and/or on-going care of individuals with suspected or confirmed dementia.
• have worked in or be based in Victoria, Australia. 

If you are interested in participating in this study or would like to know more, please contact Liam Borelli-Millott.