Negotiating Care Over Time: A Systematic Review of Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Through a Life Course Approach.
Nicoletta Bosco, Valeria Cappellato, Ester Micalizzi
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review examined sociological research published between 2004 and 2024 on family caregiving for people with Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on how caregiving intersects with caregivers’ life trajectories and social contexts. The reviewed studies describe caregiving as an evolving role shaped by life transitions, relationships between family members, and structural conditions, rather than a uniform or static experience. The authors conclude that a life course perspective helps explain this dynamic process and highlights the value of support and policies responsive to caregivers’ changing circumstances.
Key findings
- Caregiving roles evolve across the life span and are shaped by biographical transitions and linked lives.
- Structural and socio-institutional conditions influence how family caregiving unfolds over time.
- A life course perspective frames caregiving as dynamic and socially embedded.
Why it matters
Understanding caregiving as a changing experience can help clinicians and service planners recognise that caregivers’ needs may shift with life transitions and social circumstances. This perspective broadens attention beyond burden and coping to the timing and context of care, supporting consideration of services and policies that can respond across different stages of caregivers’ lives.
What to keep in mind
The review is limited to sociological research applying a life course perspective, so its findings may not represent all Alzheimer’s disease caregiving research.