초로기 치매 환자의 질병 경험

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the illness experiences of people with young-onsetdementia who live in a community. Methods: Six community-dwelling patients with young-onset dementia, aged 65or under, were recruited. Data were collected from August 2019 to July 2020 and analyzed using qualitative thematicanalysis. Results: The data were classified into five themes and eleven sub-themes. The following themes emerged:1) Anguish enough to want to die from dementia symptoms that hit the prime of one's life; 2) Being thrown from middleage to old age; 3) Becoming a burden due to changing roles within the family; 4) Experiencing difficulties in thediagnosis and treatment process due to onset before old age; and 5) Living with young-onset dementia in one's ownlife. Conclusion: The findings suggest that people with young-onset dementia have unique experiences associatedwith middle age Korean traits. Therefore, based on their illness experiences, effective psychosocial nursinginterventions tailored to their age should be developed.