Being at risk of dementia: fears and anxieties of older adults.
Most research on dementia naturally focuses either on people who have developed such problems, or those who care for them. So this paper represents a welcome addition to the literature, through exploring the views of older adults who did not fall into either category. The sample was recruited from among older people (median age 82 years) who attended a local day centre. The researchers encountered a higher than expected refusal rate, and many of those who declined to take part gave as the reason the fact that they felt uncomfortable discussing dementia. The themes identified in the interviews with the 15 older people who did agree to take part included anxiety about memory loss and dementia, and concerns about the possibility of having to enter long-term care. Stigma was a key issue. As one person said, 'I think that the people who have Alzheimer's and dementia are at the bottom of the scrap heap, and … most people would just think they should die'.