ABSTRACT

Dr James White treats older patients living with Alzheimer's disease and is interested in recording the number of changes in his patients' lives, as well as understanding what it means to live with Alzheimer's disease. Dr White thinks that a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods will provide him with a more holistic picture of his patients' experiences. This chapter explores the literature in the epidemiology of living with Alzheimer's disease and focuses on the importance of combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand a phenomenon more holistically, as well as on the triangulation of data deriving from different research methodologies. Alzheimer's disease is a neurocognitive disorder (NCD). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), The NCD category encompasses the group of disorders in which the primary clinical deficit is in cognitive function, and are acquired rather than developmental.