The Effect of Dementia Patient’s Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional/ Behavioral Problems on Caregiver Well-Being: Findings From a Spanish-Speaking Sample From Colombia, South America

Abstract

The current study aims to (1) determine whether there is a relationship between the problems of patients with dementia and the psychosocial functioning of the caregiver, (2) determine whether these relationships exist independent of sociodemographic and caregiving-related variables, and (3) determine which type of problems of patients with dementia best predict the psychosocial functioning of the caregiver. In all, 73 family caregivers were recruited from Bogota, Colombia. The caregivers completed a checklist of problems presented by the person with dementia, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Number of cognitive and behavioral/emotional problems presented by the person with dementia was positively correlated with caregiver PHQ-9 and ZBI scores. Number of behavioral/emotional problems was negatively correlated with ISEL-12 scores. Cognitive and behavioral/emotional problems, but not physical, presented by the person with dementia were associated with higher levels of depression and burden of caregiver. Behavioral/emotional difficulties were associated with lower caregiver-perceived social support rating.

Self-Efficacy Partially Mediates between Social Support and Health-Related Quality of Life in Family Caregivers for Dementia Patients in Shanghai

“…Research has also shown that caring for relatives with dementia is a long-term and stressful experience and can impair the HRQoL of family caregivers [6,7,8,9,10]. For service providers, improving HRQoL is an indispensable part of determining effective interventions for the vulnerable population.…”

“…Dementia-related impairments [8,9,10] of care recipients (CR) including cognitive and physical impairments as well as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) [12,13] and the social support for caregivers [14] are two external factors that have been reported to be strong predictors of HRQoL. The impairments of CR, particularly BPSD that can increase caregiver burden [6,9,10,15,16,17], were found to be detrimental to caregivers' HRQoL [9,18]. Social support has been regarded as an influential buffer in dealing with the stressful task of caring for a family member with dementia [19].…”

“…Caregivers who obtained more social support reported a better HRQoL [22]. Greater social support has also been associated with aspects related to the HRQoL of caregivers, such as reduced symptoms of depression [21], better physical health [6,23] and greater satisfaction in life [21]. …”

Escala de Apoyo Social para cuidadores familiares de adultos mayores mexicanos

“…Tales consideraciones se confirman en muestras de cuidadores, pues se ha encontrado que altos niveles de apoyo, se corresponden con mejores niveles salud y bienestar (Reid, Stajduhar & Chappell, 2010;Steiner et al, 2008), mitiga la vivencia de emociones negativas (Crespo & López, 2007) tales como la ira (Márquez-González et al, 2010), estrés (Betrabet, 2009;Lavela & Ather, 2010), sobrecarga, depresión y ansiedad (Arango-Lasprilla, Moreno, Rogers & Francis, 2009;Pearce & Singer, 2006;Rodríguez-Agudelo et al, 2010). En suma, el apoyo social percibido por los cuidadores familiares de adultos mayores refleja la ayuda que este recibe y facilita el ajuste, aligera la carga objetiva y subjetiva de las demandas del cuidado, aumenta las experiencias emocionales satisfactorias, contribuyendo significativamente a su crecimiento personal (Fernández-Lansac & Crespo, 2011).…”

Informal Social Support and Caregiver Burden of Caregivers of Elderly with Dementia

“…In dementia caregiving, caregivers are overwhelm with multitask activities which include activities of care, personal and family matters. As a result they will suffer from physical health problems such as chronic backache, musculoskeletal pain, reduce social activities, poor mental health, cardiovascular problems and poor sleep [6,7,8] . Previous studies have shown that these symptoms will give an impact on their quality of life [9,10,11] .…”