Family experience of help seeking for a loved one with memory loss(V1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Family experiences of help seeking when a loved one of Afro-Caribbean heritage, experiences memory loss.
IRAS ID
319096
Contact name
Stephanie Howarth
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 12 days
Research summary
Memory Loss is a decline in a person’s ability to remember information and complete daily activities. It can also prevent the person from wanting to socialise, have trouble with their feelings and change their behaviour. In the UK over 850,000 people have a formal diagnosis dementia and 25,000 of these come from black, Asian or minority ethnic groups. Research has shown that people from black, Asian or minority ethnic groups visit their doctor quite some time after experiencing memory difficulties, which makes it harder for them to get the right diagnosis and/or treatment. These ethnic groups often experience shame in telling their doctor they are having difficulties and instead choose to stay at home to be cared for by their family or get help from places they feel safe in such as religious organisations or community centres.
Whilst there has been research looking at the barriers that prevent ethnic minorities getting help sooner, it has focused on people from South Asian populations and less has been done to understand the experiences of Afro-Caribbean populations, even though they are the highest risk group for dementia diagnosis.
From the literature we know this group choose to be cared for within the family home and because of this present themselves to services much later on in their presentation. Therefore the aim of this research is to understand the family-carers perspective of their loved ones cognitive, behavioural and personality changes in relation to memory loss and their journey from noticing the initial changes and what sense has been made of this. This will help health professionals understand when these changes happen and what perceived barriers may be in place to prevent this population accessing professional services. It is hoped that having an understanding of this, will help to inform clinical practice and enable those from an Afro-Caribbean populations with memory loss seek help sooner and for family carers to receive support from professional services to provide care to their loved one.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/YH/0056
Date of REC Opinion
18 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion