Pousa for their support in recruitment and their enthusiastic commitment in this study.
Background: Dementia care is associated with physical, emotional, and monetary impact on the informal carers providing unpaid care. Differences in the personal characteristics of caregivers may help explain the variations in the costs of dementia care. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of caregivers’ sense of coherence (SOC) on direct and indirect costs in dementia care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in community dwelling caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Data of healthcare services were obtained from clinical registries, and information was collected from caregivers regarding their use of social care resources and time spent caregiving. The transformation of all costs into Euros was made assigning a fixed cost of 10.29 € /h and 16.24 € /h for assisting in instrumental and basic activities of daily living, respectively. Caregivers’ SOC was assessed using the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ-13). Adjusted regression models were developed, with different types of costs as dependent variables. Results: A sample of 147 caregivers was recruited. The mean OLQ-13 score was 73.3 points (SD = 11.6). The regression models showed a small association between caregivers’ SOC and direct costs, mainly linked to the use of social care resources (r2 = 0.429; β= –15.6 € /month), and a greater association between SOC and indirect costs (r2 = 0.562; β= –222.3 € /month). Conclusion: Increasing caregivers’ SOC could reduce dementia care costs by decreasing the use of social care resources and caregiving time.
Background: A sense of coherence (SOC) could help us better understand why there are individuals who cope better than others in similar situations. The study aimed to assess the effect of SOC on the course of burden reports in relatives of persons with dementia. Methods:This was a prospective cohort study of 156 dementia carers. The SOC was assessed by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ-13), burden by Burden Interview, and personal and contextual characteristics were collected via ad hoc questions. The main dementia symptoms, including functional difficulties (Disability Assessment for Dementia), neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory), and cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination), were also assessed. A general linear model was adjusted to determine the effect of SOC and other covariates on burden throughout the follow-up. Burden differences between baseline and 12 and 24 months were analysed, and the baseline OLQ-13 score was grouped by quartiles. Results:The global burden reported increased after 24 months (F = 9.98; df = 2; p < 0.001), but not equally for all carers; daughters reported the greatest increase. SOC, functional disability, and neuropsychiatric disorders showed a significant effect on burden, but time did not. Carers with higher SOC at baseline tend to remain with lower burden levels, whereas carers with low SOC reported higher burden at each visit. Conclusions:This study reports evidence of the effect of SOC on burden at baseline, 12 and 24 months of follow-up. Burden scores differ by carers' SOC; those with higher SOC showed lower burden levels, whereas the low-SOC group reported a greater burden at each visit.
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