To what extent does diagnosis matter? Dementia diagnosis, trouble interpretation and caregiving network dynamics.

Contemporary research into health and mental health treats diagnosis as a central step in understanding illness management and trajectory; consequently, in the last two decades, sociology of diagnosis has attained increasing influence within medical sociology. Deeply embedded in social constructionism, the set of research divides between those who focus on the social and historical construction of diagnoses as categories, and those who see diagnosis as a process. Regarding the latter, this approach explores the constitution of the medical production, highlighting how it constitutes a starting point for entering a 'sick role', for being labelled, for naming one's problem and by extension, for framing one's illness narrative.

Successful linkage between formal and informal care systems: the mobilization of outside help by caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Health interventions are currently being revamped to address the specific needs of chronic illness and population aging. In this context, focus has increasingly turned to Alzheimer-type dementia, an illness that is considered to mobilize a large number of social actors into long-term involvement of varying intensity. Linkage problems between families and professional systems have been well documented, yet the reasons for this remain relatively unexplored.

[Progress and living situations among the elderly with severe mental illness: perspectives of psychosocial services].

Services for elders with severe mental illness (SMI) have major deficiencies, among them a lack of adequate psychosocial services. Some analysts have attributed this situation to "double stigmatization" targeting both ageing and mental illness in our societies. Using qualitative methods (23 semi-directed interviews, theme-based content analysis), our exploratory research aims to understand better the perceptions of psychosocial practitioners working in community and institutional settings about the elderly with SMI and their living situations.

Using the life course perspective to study the entry into the illness trajectory: the perspective of caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.

The research community is showing increasing interest in the analysis of the care trajectory of people with chronic health problems, especially dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. However, despite this interest, there is little research on the initial phases of the care trajectory. The fact that the first symptoms of dementia are generally noticed by those surrounding the elderly person suggests that the recognition of the disease is intimately linked to interactions not only amongst family members but also amongst friends, neighbours and health professionals.

[Home care in a culturally sensitive environment: perspectives of caregivers of Haitian elderly patients and relatives].

In Canada, the care provided by families occurs in an increasingly multiethnic context. Against this backdrop, the present qualitative study aims to explore the needs/expectations and solutions not only of (female) natural caregivers of an elderly relative hailing from Haiti (presented in terms of tracking cases) but also of remunerated home care providers - all with a view to developing a culturally sensitive service offering. As such, this study works from a conceptual framework centring on the negotiation of a common area of agreement between the stakeholders involved (i.

Social care interface in early-stage dementia: practitioners' perspectives on the links between formal and informal networks.

Objective: Although issues of complementarity and coordination between health care institutions have recently generated great interest, few scholars have studied the thorny interface between formal and informal service networks. This exploratory study investigates the interface between health care practitioners and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease living in the community.

Method: Using Pescosolido's multilevel network model and Martuccelli's sociology of the individual, the authors interviewed 20 practitioners drawn from seven urban groups and analyzed contacts between practitioners and caregivers at the beginning of the care trajectory.

Social Network Data Validity: The Example of the Social Network of Caregivers of Older Persons with Alzheimer-Type Dementia.

This article offers reflection on the validity of relational data such as used in social network analysis. Ongoing research on the transformation of the support network of caregivers of persons with an Alzheimer-type disease provides the data to fuel the debate on the validity of participant report. More specifically, we sought to understand the factors that might influence the description of the support network by persons involved in caregiving.

Social network data validity: the example of the social network of caregivers of older persons with Alzheimer-type dementia.

This article offers reflection on the validity of relational data such as used in social network analysis. Ongoing research on the transformation of the support network of caregivers of persons with an Alzheimer-type disease provides the data to fuel the debate on the validity of participant report. More specifically, we sought to understand the factors that might influence the description of the support network by persons involved in caregiving.

Support network transformations in the first stages of the caregiver's career.

The purpose of this article is to propose a method to facilitate analysis of the processes involved in the transformation of support networks for caregivers of persons with dementia. The authors are particularly interested in the preliminary phases of the caregiver's career: the initial period ranging from the first manifestations of dementia to the confirmation of a diagnosis. This method combines the social network approach with narrative analysis.

Cohesion of the primary social network and sustained service use before the first psychiatric hospitalization.

This study analyzed the relationship between social network dynamics and initial help-seeking behaviors. The primary social network was reconstructed for the period beginning with initial observation of unusual behavior and ending with first psychiatric hospitalization. The social network's influence was analyzed based on the concept of social network cohesion, considering both structure and content of social ties.