Caregivers' Perceptions of Case Management and Community-Based Services: Barriers to Service Use

Abstract

This study explored the use of case-managed services for dementia patients and their families. Forty-six primary caregivers, recruited from five case-managed programs and from independent sources, participated in a structured interview. The findings suggest ways in which case-managed services might be structured more effectively for caregivers to dementia patients. Specifically, families seek greater flexibility and increased family input into the service package. Further, caregivers emphasize the need for more information about service eligibility and availability, and the importance of finding a sympathetic person within the system.

Evaluation of the home help service and its impact on the informal caregiver's burden of dependent elders

“…Besides, the need for psychological care for real caregiver burden is not met either. Lack of adjustment to the needs of the caregiver and the dependent person has been identified as a detractor from the efficiency of respite services (MaloneBeach et al, 1992;Kahana et al, 1994;Bass, 2002). That is why we propose the need to include psychological care programmes in respite services like the HHS to prevent and address caregiver stress and emotional distress.…”

Health care triads and dementia care: integrative framework and future directions

“…The "triadic encounter" is organized into domains that represent the purposes of the encounter, with specific reference to dementia care issues shown in the literature to be important to family caregivers (Beisecker et al, 1997;Fortinsky & Hathaway, 1990;Glasser and Miller, 1998;Malone Beach et al, 1992;Silliman, 2000). These domains include: diagnosis of dementia-related symptoms; non-pharmacological dementia symptom management before and after diagnosis; medication management for dementia symptoms and co-morbidities; community support service linkage; and emotional support to family caregivers.…”

What is the role of the general practitioner towards the family caregiver of a community-dwelling demented relative?

“…First, with a mortality rate around 30%, a large number of patients might be expected to drop out during the course of the study [38]. Second, caregivers do not consider themselves as patients and will therefore be reluctant to participate in studies on this topic [39,40]. Third, the relatively low prevalence of demented patients in a general practice (15% above 65 years of age) will limit the recruitment of study subjects [41].…”