ABSTRACT. The degree of burden related to the demands of daily care provided to a dependent older adult is important to evaluate due to the negative influence exerted on caregivers’ physical and psychological health. Objective: To analyze the validity of the 12-item version of the Zarit Burden Interview administered to older caregivers of community-dwelling older dependent individuals and suggest a cut-off score based on quartiles. Methods: Three hundred and forty-one older caregivers (mean age: 69.6±7.1 years; 76.8% women) registered with primary healthcare centers were evaluated using the ZBI-12. Additional evaluations addressed stress (Perceived Stress Scale [PSS]), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]) in the older caregivers and the degree of dependence of the older care recipients (Lawton and Brody [L&B]). Results: Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated very good internal consistency (α=0.81). Correlations were found between all ZBI-12 items and overall score on the PSS (r=0.53; p<0.01). GDS (r=0.43; p<0.01) and L&B (r= -0.23; p<0.01) scale scores. The PSS demonstrated the strongest correlation with ZBI-12 score and proved to be the standard reference. Based on caregivers with a higher degree of stress considering the PSS score quartiles, a cut-off score of 13 points on the ZBI-12 is suggested for screening burden in community-dwelling older caregivers, but should not be assumed as normative data. Conclusion: The ZBI-12 can be considered valid for evaluation of burden in clinical practice and research as a fast, efficient option for screening burden among older caregivers of community-dwelling older adults.
Changes in patterns of performance for the cognitive functions of memory, processing speed, and focused attention are expected in old age.Objective:The main goal of this systematic review was to analyze the use of ERP in healthy elderly in studies evaluating the P300 components.Methods:A systematic review was carried out based on recommendations for nursing research on the databases LILACS, PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science.Results:26 studies involving 940 healthy elderly were identified, most of which sought to identify and determine the influence of age on the P300.Conclusion:Although there is consensus in the literature that P300 latency is significantly longer in elderly with psychiatric disorders compared to healthy elderly, it was not possible to conclude P300 associations with gender, education and other cognitive tests.
The results highlight the need for public policies to promote more positive attitudes toward aging and change negative stereotypes usually used to designate older people. These public policies can try to modify some predictors of negative attitudes, such as perceived stress, which was associated with all four domains of Neri Scale.
Objective: to investigate the association between frailty, loneliness and depressive symptoms of elderly caregivers. Method: a cross - sectional study carried out with 341 elderly caregivers enrolled in Family Health Units of a city in the countryside of São Paulo State. The interviews were domiciliary and included questionnaire for characterization of the caregiver, Fried’s frailty phenotype, family APGAR (family functionality), Geriatric Depression Scale (depressive symptoms) and item 3 of the Herth Hope Scale (loneliness). Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between depressive symptoms and solitude (independent variables), and frailty and pre-frailty (dependent variables). Results: there was an association between frailty, loneliness and depressive symptoms. Elderly caregivers had increased odds of 158% presenting pre-frailty, and 360% of frailty. Elderly caregivers with depressive symptoms had an increased chance of 242% of presenting fragility. Conclusion: elderly and lonely caregivers with depressive symptoms are more likely to be frail and pre-frail.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.