Love & family · 2010
How can mealtimes help families living with dementia feel connected?
In interviews with people living with dementia and their care partners, mealtimes emerged as a setting for connection through face-to-face contact, psychological participation, and giving and receiving support.
Details
Mealtimes offer opportunities for social activity and emotional connection. This grounded theory study explored the meaning and experience of mealtimes in families living with dementia in the community. Researchers interviewed 28 care partners and 27 people with dementia, both together and separately.
Through team analysis, the researchers developed a substantive theory explaining how eating together ‘mirrors the way we are’ and reveals the essence of being human while living with dementia. Mealtimes reflected how these families connected, honoured identity and adapted to an evolving life.
The article focuses on three ways of being connected at mealtimes: being face to face, participating psychologically, and getting and giving support. The authors say that understanding mealtimes’ role in improving connections and relationships in the context of dementia has important implications for both formal and family care partners.
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