Medical and technological advances have led to an increase in longevity, but this is not without its challenges. Dementia is a term used to describe thecollection of symptoms that cause a decline in memory or thinking skills. It is one of the main causes of dependence and disability in old age.

The purpose of this collective case study was to interrogate the complexity of caring for a family member with the disease. It explored the interpersonal, intrapersonal and extrapersonal challenges encountered by three Jamaican women in their role as caregivers for a loved one with dementia. Themes that emerged from the study include the women’s motivations for taking on the caregiving role; the myriads of emotions they felt in the process of caregiving; the patterns of interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions; extrapersonal conflicts they experienced navigating specific exosystems and the change in roles and responsibilities, captured in the idiom "once a man, twice a child."

The findings of the study revealed that caregivers taking care of family members with dementia do so at great personal sacrifice which for the most part is invisible and unpaid work; the caregivers were unaware of the nature and manifestation of the disease; the difficult choices caregivers had to make due to limited resources.

Finally, what is needed is for Jamaica to establish a framework for the care and support for caregivers looking after a family member with dementia.

The article was published in the Caribbean Journal of Social Work, Vol 12 & 13 pp.257-277