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Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · Nov 2002
Complaints of informal caregivers providing home care for dementia patients: the Pixel study.
- Philippe Thomas, Stéphanie Chantoin-Merlet, Cyril Hazif-Thomas, Joël Belmin, Bernard Montagne, Jean-Pierre Clément, Marianne Lebruchec, and Rémy Billon.
- Poitiers University Hospital, Poitiers, France. thomasphil@interpc.fr
- Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2002 Nov 1; 17 (11): 1034-47.
ContextProspective study of the complaints, problems and requirements of the main caregiver providing home care for dementia patients.ObjectivesTo determine the complaints of home caregivers, how they are interrelated and what causes them.ResourcesSelf-administered questionnaire of 42 questions on the patient and caregiver, including a list of complaints, given to the main caregiver. Medical questionnaire on the patient filled in by the attending physician, usually a specialist, freelance or salaried doctor.Results408 sets of records were compiled, concerning 236 demented women (77.1 +/- 0.47 years) and 172 demented men (75.7 +/- 0.57 years). In two-thirds of cases, the main caregiver was a woman aged 60.6 +/- 0.79 years. Female caregivers were more vulnerable than male caregivers. The most frequent caregiver complaint, regardless of the stage of the disease, concerned loss of motivation and withdrawal. The patient's awareness of the disorder was accompanied by a reduction in motor dysfunction and aggressiveness, but associated with a higher frequency of the complaint regarding loss of motivation reported by the caregiver. The caregivers' problems concerned mainly the absence of relief and the impossibility of having any time to themselves. Caregivers' requests for information concerned medical information, care structures and day care facilities.DiscussionThe attending physician comes into close contact with the patient, but must take into account the patient's environment. The physician can provides a separate analysis to the caregiver and does not completely answer to certain family questions or needs. He or she is not the family's prime source of information. The caregivers' requirements relate to the areas that are the attending physician's responsibility: the development and characteristics of the disease. The caregiver is anxious about the patient's future and is trapped by his or her involvement in the care, suffering greatly from the lack of relief.ConclusionsIt is necessary to change the focus of home care for dementia patients to fit the context in which they live and to allow for periods of relief for home caregivers.Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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