Objective: To examine quality of life of family caregivers who are caring for demented patients.
Design: Cross-sectional observation design was used to obtain the data with the questionnaire.
Materials and Methods: From a caregiver support group, we selected 20 family caregivers (16 spouses and 4 children) as the study subjects, whose family member had been given a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (NINCDS-ADRDA). Perceived Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI, GQOLI-74) was administered to examine life satisfaction experienced by caregivers, including physical functions, psychological functions, and social functions.
Results: 1. Psychological experience. Among 20 family members, 14 reported feeling of depression, anxiety, irritability, and stress. Caregivers' memory, concentration, responsiveness, and decision-making ability remained intact.
2. Social functions. 16 caregivers reported deterioration of occupational ability and they had to shift to light work, part-time job, or premature retirement. Eighteen suffered from a decrease in recreational activities. Half of the caregivers were satisfied with his/her own interpersonal relationship with others.
3. Physical experience. 13 respondents were not satisfied with their own sleep quality. 9 of them reported insomnia. 8 family members reported feeling of fatigue, and 5 were dissatisfied with his/her own physical energetic experiences. 14 caregivers complained of physical discomforts, and half of them were taking drugs, such as painkillers and diazepam, to relieve the discomfort.
Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of negative psychological feelings among family caregivers who are caring for demented patients. Social relationship of family caregivers was influenced by caregiving practice. Unpleasant physical experience was also common among the family caregivers. It was hinted that there was a heavy caregiver burden of dementia, including psychological experience and social function. However, insufficient insight into the disease burden has challenged us to conduct extensive research to obtain some convincing ideas. In addition, Chinese cultural traditions should also be taken into consideration.
Back to S007 Quality of Life in Dementia: Is It Measurable and Is It Possible?
Back to The Eleventh International Congress