Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Self-Perceived Change of Caregivers’ Burden in Providing Care for People With Dementia

Abstract

Objectives: To explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affects caregiver (CG) burden, the quality of care provided to people with dementia (PwD) and their perceived changes between before and during the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study surveyed primary CGs about burden and self-perceived change in multidimensional domains and compared these before and during the pandemic. Results: About 135 primary CGs of PwD were enrolled at Siriraj Hospital’s Geriatric Clinic in Thailand and assessed using various online platforms. About 13.8% of CGs had a “mild to moderate” burden. The NPI-Q score and level of functional capacity of the PwD declined during the COVID-19 pandemic ( p-value .001 and .001, respectively). The CG-associated factors that related to a higher CG burden were younger age (mean age of 54.2 years old), female (76.3%), and high educational level (80.7%). Conflict between CG and PwD was associated with an increase in CG burden ( p-value .004; 95% CI [1.19, 6.12]). Regarding the COVID-19-related factors, there was no association between CG burden and the PwD’s characteristics or COVID-19-related concerns. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a higher CG burden. Identifying the related factors in an unusual situation may help reduce the CG burden and improve the care of PwD.

Mental health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on patients with neurodegenerative diseases and perceived family caregiver burden in Lima, Peru

“…People living with dementia are at high risk of depression, isolation, and behavioral changes, which may have been exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic (Nakanishi et al., 2023 ). Prior studies have demonstrated that caregiver burden increased during the pandemic among informal caregivers of patients with PD (Hattori et al., 2023 ; Suzuki et al., 2021 ) and dementia in studies in India (Mukherjee et al., 2022 ), Thailand (Wongmek et al., 2023 ), Hong Kong (Fong et al., 2021 ), and across the United States (Mitchell et al., 2023 ; Yan et al., 2023 ). Caregiver burden increased in many regions of the world due to factors including aggravation of patient's symptoms, increased stress and anxiety, and needing to spend more hours at home given patients were less able to go out of the home during the pandemic (Carbone et al., 2021 ; Hattori et al., 2023 ).…”