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`Making mistakes'

Using Co-Constructed Inquiry to illuminate meaning and relationships in the early adjustment to Alzheimer's disease — a single case study approach

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Manchester, UK, john.keady{at}manchester.ac.uk

Sion Williams

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, UK, hss042{at}bangor.ac.uk

John Hughes - Roberts

Division of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Psychology, Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust, UK, John.Hughes-Roberts{at}cd-tr.wales.nhs.uk

This paper outlines the use of a new qualitative research approach, Co-Constructed Inquiry, to develop a personal theory of the experience of living and adjusting to an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The personal theory was developed over a 21-month period (March 2004—December 2005) between Sarah, a person with Alzheimer's disease, and a clinical nurse specialist at a memory clinic in North Wales, John Hughes-Roberts. The resulting work suggested that Sarah co-constructed her experience of living with the onset of Alzheimer's disease as a process of `making mistakes' and that her life story was a powerful influence in mediating and enhancing her coping behaviour. Moreover, a sequence of `balancing' acts, i.e. losing balance — finding balance — keeping balance, which Sarah visualised as the `up and down' motion of a see-saw, both conceptualised and diagrammed her early adjustment experience. Sarah's personal theory has implications for practice and research development.

Key Words: life story • narrative • early adjustment to Alzheimer's disease • personal theory • co-constructed inquiry

Dementia, Vol. 6, No. 3, 343-364 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1471301207081569


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