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.

Results: The quality of the practitioner-caregiver interface was determined by the players' profiles, internal structures, and external links. Heterogeneous professional groups and the establishment of contacts in the early stages of dementia seemed beneficial.

Discussion: The problematic interface between formal and informal service networks could be improved by a greater understanding of microsocial- and organizational-level interactions and implementing a social model of care.