Knowingly not wanting to know: Discourses of people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment is a heterogeneous clinical state whereby assessed cognitive changes over time may progress to dementia, remain stable or revert to back to normal. This study aimed to identify, through discourse analysis, how people with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment used language in order to reveal the societal views and shared meanings of the diagnosis, and the positions taken by people. Seven people with mild cognitive impairment were interviewed, and three discourses emerged during analysis. One of the discourses revealed was ‘Not Knowing’ about mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, in the absence of a coherent discourse related to mild cognitive impairment, participants went on to position themselves between two more familiar discourse; ‘Knowing’ about ageing and dying and ‘Not Wanting to Know’ about dementia. Clinicians must consider how information is presented to people about mild cognitive impairment, including where mild cognitive impairment is positioned in respect to normal ageing and dementia.