genus perspective
Keeping family connection central after a care move
A Danish study published in April 2025 explored how family caregivers experience conversations with residential dementia care staff. We consider how a family can find its place in a new setting while keeping the person’s everyday life central.
What we found in the research
A Danish study published April 17, 2025 (opens in a new tab) explored family caregivers’ perspectives on conversations with staff in long-term dementia care. Researchers interviewed 17 caregivers about what they needed from those exchanges.
One theme was:
“feeling disconnected and uninformed about their loved one’s care”
— Frederik Schou-Juul and colleagues, Global Qualitative Nursing Research
The interviews also explored reassurance, professional guidance and mutual understanding. These are participants’ experiences in a particular care context. The study does not prove that a particular communication method will create the same result elsewhere.
Why this matters to us
At home, a relative may know how most of the day unfolds. After a move, they may have to learn whom to ask and how to remain involved without carrying the same responsibilities.
At genus, we think that change deserves attention. A family member can be relieved that support is available and still feel uncertain about their place.
The person who has moved also has an everyday life to continue. Familiar interests, relationships and preferences should remain part of the conversation, alongside practical care matters.
Find the family’s place in the new routine
Our suggestion is to ask for a conversation about how family involvement will work.
Begin with the person’s preferences: whom do they want to see, what do they enjoy sharing and what would they like to keep doing? Their ways of expressing this may vary, so ask staff how best to include them.
Clarify the main contact for routine questions and the separate process for urgent concerns. Agree on which observations would be useful to share, without expecting a running account of every moment.
Ask how visits can fit comfortably into the person’s day. A familiar activity may offer a natural way to spend time together. The family need not turn every visit into an inspection or a list of questions.
Make room for the caregiver’s adjustment, too. Someone who has organized daily care may need support as that role changes. A clear explanation of what staff handle and where family participation is welcome can reduce uncertainty about expectations.
Revisit the arrangement as everyone learns more. The first week does not have to define the relationship permanently.
The genus connection
Today, the genusConnect Care App (opens in a new tab) supports enabled conversations, events and tasks for invited community members. Features and access depend on the organization’s configuration.
Where a provider uses these features, families can coordinate agreed visits and routine communication through its chosen process. The relationship with staff remains essential. Our mission connection is supporting continuity of family participation while respecting the person’s new home and everyday choices.
One question to take away
What ordinary part of your relationship would you like to keep sharing after the move, and who can help make room for it?
Supporting references
- “It’s Akin to Standing Alone on the Platform”: A Qualitative Analysis of Family Caregivers’ Perceived Benefits of Conversations with Professional Dementia Caregivers (opens reference preview; direct link opens in a new tab)
Global Qualitative Nursing Research · 2025-04-17
Frederik Schou-Juul and colleagues report interviews with 17 family caregivers in Denmark about communication in long-term dementia care.
