The relation between care giving and the mental health of caregivers of demented relatives: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Increasing numbers of family caregivers are confronted with caring for a demented, community-dwelling relative. Living with, caring for, and supervising a demented older relative places a heavy burden on the involved family members. In particular, primary caregivers report increased strain, feelings of depression, and decreased general wellbeing as a direct consequence of care giving. Since the most common cause of failure of a home-care situation appears to be caregiver burnout, detecting critical, negative changes in the wellbeing of the caregiver is important. Methods: In a nationwide, cross-sectional study by the Belgium Social Security Board, a population of demented older patients and their care-giving relatives was investigated. The care situation and characteristics of demented, older patients and their caregivers were inventoried, and their effects on the wellbeing of caregivers were evaluated. Results: Approximately 30% (n 028) of caregivers of demented, older relatives were depressed. Depression occurred independently of objective care characteristics and the mental and physical state of the demented patient. Rather, it was related to coping mechanisms and to the perceived burden reported by the caregiver. Conclusion:Offering support and counsel to caregivers is an important issue in efficiently maintaining home-care situations.

Analysis of the moderating effect of self-efficacy domains in different points of the dementia caregiving process

“…Again, considering the cross-sectional nature of the study, results must be interpreted with caution. Although the directions of the associations between variables suggested by the stress and coping model have received empirical support (Chun et al, 2007;Haley et al, 1987), alternative explanations to the directions hypothesized in this study (for example, influences of the outcomes on caregivers' burden and on coping strategies; Pearlin et al, 1990;Schoenmakers, Buntinx, & De Lepeleire, 2009) could be possible. Longitudinal and experimentally designed studies are needed for advancing in this regard.…”

Life Satisfaction and Burnout Among Heart, Lung, Liver, and Kidney Transplant Patients and Their Spouses

“…Despite these obviously contradictory findings, however, other studies report that caregivers of transplant patients are less stressed than those of other chronically ill patients, for example dementia patients (cf. Haley et al, 2003;Kiecolt-Glaser et al, 1991;Schoenmakers et al, 2009;Schulz & Beach, 1999). An explanation for this difference among different types of caregivers might be that in general, and despite all the stressful events accompanying the surgery, an organ transplant represents a positive life event leading to a significant increase in quality of life for both patient and caregiver.…”

“…The literature on caregivers of patients suffering from physical and mental illnesses is also relatively extensive: caregivers tend to suffer from depression, report a lower life satisfaction, and are prone to coming down with infections; there are even indications of an increased mortality in this group (Haley, LaMonde, Han, Burton & Schonwetter, 2003;Kiecolt-Glaser, Dura, Speicher, Trask & Glaser, 1991;Schoenmakers, Buntinx & De Lepeleire, 2009;Schulz & Beach, 1999). In the field of transplantation medicine, however, there are few studies on the family caregivers' psychosocial situation which do not focus on the well-being of the patients' spouses: In one study, family members' stress levels before the heart transplant were markedly higher than those of the general population, but decreased to a normal level in the year following the transplant (Canning, Dew & Davidson, 1996).…”

Hausarztbasierte Demenzversorgung: Effektivität früher psychosozialer Beratung der Angehörigen

“…Viele betreuende oder pflegende Angehörige von Patienten mit Demenzerkrankungen sind sehr belastet, 12 % bis 65 % erkranken an einer Depression [3,4,5,8,9,11,13,16,22,24,25,27,29,30,32,33]. Auch wenn objektive und subjektive Belastung durch die Betreuung Demenzkranker nicht in jedem Fall im Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung einer klinisch fassbaren Depression stehen, so sind sie dennoch Prädiktoren für die Entwicklung einer Depression [7].…”