"Living is a career, do you know what I mean?" young-onset dementia and women's career development

This thesis explores how living with young-onset dementia impacts women’s career development.Dementia is a growing global concern, often associated with older age, though the number of peoplebeing diagnosed with the condition at a younger age is increasing. Being diagnosed when youngeroften presents additional career and life-stage related challenges and concerns. Career in this studyrefers to paid work and other roles and activities that are important to individuals, so is defined aslife and work. People living with young-onset dementia have careers that are composed of paidemployment, voluntary activities (such as dementia advocacy and campaign work) and personalroles (such as within the family). Recognising that people living with young-onset dementia are nothomogenous, and that more gendered perspectives within both dementia and career-relatedresearch are needed, this study has focused on women’s experiences.Twelve women living with young-onset dementia participated in this study through onlineinterviews. Objectives for the research included exploration of the impact of dementia on career liferoles and stages, enablers and disablers of career roles and the meaning of participants’ chosenobjects to career identities. Object elicitation was therefore used in an innovative way to begininterviews and explore career. Findings were generated using reflexive thematic analysis, includinginnovative creative approaches to analysis and understanding the data through art and crochet. Thisresearch has evidenced that women living with young-onset dementia have careers that includechange and challenge, evolving feelings and needs. Themes included how careers continue but arenot continuous, and connections with peers and a community of others who offer support enablepositive career continuance. The roots of career formed before developing dementia can facilitatenew positive branches of career after diagnosis. This study offers a needed and unique contributionto our knowledge of gendered experiences of life and work when living with young-onset dementia.