Burden and Competence in Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease Patients

Abstract

In relationship to the number of studies on caregiving burden, few studies have assessed the relationship between burden of caregivers and the extent and nature of care given to elderly persons in need of assistance (defined as competence). A study of 96 caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease patients found only a relatively low, and statistically insignificant, relationship between caregiver burden and competence. The development and measurement of competence is described, as is the need to consider both burden and competence as constructs, independent of one another, in work with caregivers of impaired older persons.

Development of a conceptual framework of positive aspects of caregiving in dementia

“…It appears also very important that practitioners be aware of the caregivers' self-efficacy. Subjective appraisal of their own capacities is more critical to caregivers' involvement than an objective evaluation of their abilities (Kosberg & Cairl, 1991). Steffen and colleagues (2002) explained that better self-efficacy leads to a more positive appraisal of the caregiving experience.…”

Conceptualization and Measurement of Doing Family Caregiving Well

“…Caregiver competence has been defined both in terms of selfperception (Pearlin et al, 1990) and professional assessment (Kosberg & Cairl, 1991;Levine, Cartwright, Inoue, Stewart, & Archbold, 1997). Here we limit our comments to the selfperception of competence.…”

“…The measure of caregiver competence developed by Kosberg and Cairl (1991) is based on a structured interview consisting of 21 questions about the extent to which caregivers believe provisions are made for the five caregiving areas ( Table 2). An interdisciplinary team reviews the data and consensually decides on the extent to which caregivers are competent in meeting the patient's needs.…”

Adequacy of Care: The Concept and Its Measurement

“…For example, Strawbridge and Wallhagen (1992) argue that the family is not always best, challenging the assumption that family care invariably is of higher quality than institutional care. Several researchers have measured the competency of the caregiver, identifying factors associated with caregiving competence (Wilken, 1990) and the effects of competence on the outcome of stress (Kosberg & Cairl, 1992).…”