Caregiver preparedness is associated with desire to seek long‐term care admission of hospitalized persons with dementia

Abstract

IntroductionHospitalized patients with dementia are more likely to be discharged to long‐term care compared to persons without dementia. Little research has been conducted to examine the associations of caregiver preparedness and strain with desire to seek long‐term care in hospitalized persons with dementia at discharge. The purpose of this study was to examine caregiver preparedness and strain as factors associated with desire to seek long‐term care admission in caregivers of persons with dementia at hospital discharge.MethodsPatient baseline and discharge data, and caregiver discharge data of 424 patient and caregiver dyads from a cluster randomized trial was used. Stepwise multiple linear regression was conducted to examine factors associated with caregiver desire to seek long‐term care.ResultsAfter controlling for caregiver and patient characteristics, lower caregiver preparedness (β = −0.069; p < 0.016) was significantly associated with increased desire to seek long‐term care.DiscussionFindings underscore the need for clinicians and service providers to provide further attention to caregiver preparedness throughout the course of hospitalization.