Introducing… Me!
Hello everyone! My name is Marissa Keogh, but I go by Lyn. It’s my middle name and I think it suits me a lot better. They/them pronouns please!
If you looked at my profile before, I have some updates for you! If not, that’s totally fine. I’ll explain everything now!
My project is titled “Connecting the Dots: A Study on Demographics of Alzheimer’s Caregivers and Caregiver Experience.” I have one (not so simple) question to lead my research: how can we improve the caregiver experience for those that care for persons living with Alzheimer’s Disease (PLwADs)?
I chose to focus on caregivers after seeing my aunt go through a lot of mental strain when caring for my grandfather after he was diagnosed. She met with multiple physicians, care facility officials, and others who may have some kind of knowledge to help her through this. Through the years, she came across many different perspectives and opinions on what was best for my ailing grandfather. One doctor would tell her one thing, one psychologist the complete opposite. There seemed to be some disconnect between these fields, which caused her unending stress. As a result of this disconnect, my grandfather was subjected to psychological distress and agitation while experts floundered. Throughout it all, I learned that caregivers were the ones who dealt with the most (next to the PLwAD, of course).
My aunt’s experience is only one out of the hundreds of thousands that exist. With this project, I’d like to learn what others went through. In order to do so, I plan to conduct a survey surrounding current Alzheimer’s care. I will draw from connections my on-site mentor has, other similar organizations if they are willing, and I may even use social media platforms to find my sample size. I’d use questions based around the research I’ve done, including open-ended ones which will allow participants the freedom to respond in any way they see fit. Questions would focus on the caregiver’s unique experiences with current Alzheimer’s care. After analyzing these accounts, I will write up a paper showcasing these results and any connections I find between the problems faced and the demographic information of the people facing them. In this, I will also propose some solutions based on the problems given and possible effectiveness based on research and responses obtained. Pretty simple, considering how large of a scope my research question has.
My on-site mentor is Ms. Edith Gendron, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center in Winter Park, Florida. She works directly with caregivers of people living with not just Alzheimer’s, but other types of dementia as well. Currently, I plan on traveling to meet her in the spring so I can have a more direct connection to her work.
That’s all for now folks! In my next post, I hope to explain some specifics. Thanks for reading!
→ Lyn K. 😀
Comments:
All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.