Daily life experiences of an older woman with Alzheimer's disease residing alone as recorded in her diaries.

BACKGROUND

In Japan, the aging population is rapidly increasing, with more older persons residing alone. Among them, individuals with dementia face unique challenges in maintaining daily life and self-identity.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to clarify what an older woman living with Alzheimer's disease, who resided alone, experienced in her daily life based on the diaries she kept.

METHODS

The contents of 13 diary books belonging to Aki (a pseudonym), an older woman with dementia who lived alone at home, were quantitatively analyzed using KH Coder, and a co-occurrence network was created. In addition, qualitative content analysis of the diary contents was performed for each subgraph obtained from this network.

RESULTS

Across all years, most days with entries had only 1 entry. However, as the years passed, the number of days with multiple entries increased. The co-occurrence network consisted of 8 subgraphs. According to the content in each subgraph, Aki experienced "sorrow and loneliness due to forgetfulness". However, Aki made efforts such as "recording the current time," "writing in a notebook to maintain my proper character". The analyses also revealed her experience of trying to live positively, as reflected in statements such as "I will live positively even though my siblings passed away, leaving me all alone."

CONCLUSIONS

Keeping a diary may have been an important means to complement her memory function and orientation, and to inspire motivation to live positively even after the loss of her family members, moreover as well as maintaining her self-esteem.