Impact of Caring for Alzheimer's Disease Clients on Filipino Caregivers' Stress Level and Psychological Well-being
Impact of Caring for Alzheimer's Disease Clients on Filipino Caregivers' Stress Level and Psychological Well-being

Author: Nelson Fababaer

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13:

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"The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of caring for Alzheimer’s disease clients on paid Filipino caregivers’ stress level, psychological well-being, and quality of life in order to make recommendation regarding ways to design and develop strategies on how to assist Filipino caregivers cope with the stress of caregiving. Forty five participants were recruited from three nursing home and assisted living facilities in the Chicago area, of which 24 were caregivers of AD care recipients and the remaining 21 were caregivers of older adults with a physical disability (PD) (control group). Participants completed a survey which included quantitative measures and qualitative open-ended interview questions designed to allow the caregiver to share some of the challenges and difficulties they experienced in providing care to a person with Alzheimer’s disease. The quantitative parts of this research used Kingston Caregiver Stress Scale (KCSS), Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB), and SF-12 quality of life (QOL) scale to assess the general mental health status of the caregivers. The quantitative results revealed that there were significant differences of stress levels between AD and PD caregivers but no significant differences were found on PWB and QOL scores. The same is true when age group comparisons were tested; two of the three outcomes showed significant mean differences between stress of caregiver and PWB score. Analysis of the qualitative data found that the caregivers wanted more social support, sufficient information about Alzheimer’s disease, days off, and additional seminars/workshops to combat the negative impact of dementia caregiving."--

Families Caring for an Aging America
Families Caring for an Aging America

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-08

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0309448093

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Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Impact of Caregiver Depression on Health of Family Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease
Impact of Caregiver Depression on Health of Family Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease

Author: Poonam Aryal

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13:

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This study examines the health consequences of being a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and is a significant public health problem that will intensify as the population ages. Caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease is more stressful than caring for a person with a physical disability; they need increased levels of supervision and personal care as the disease progress. The majority of care is provided at home by family caregivers. Caregivers often help people with Alzheimer’s to manage various issues from activities of daily living to financial management and medical care. These changes are often the most challenging and overwhelming for family caregivers which further results in increased new or exacerbated health problems which might be related to depression; and depleted income and finances due, in part, to disruptions in employment, and paying for health care or other services for themselves and care recipients. Data for this study were collected through an electronic databases: Academic Search Premier, Ageline, ProQuest, Psych INFO, CINHAL, and Google scholar. Included in this alternate plan paper is a brief overview of the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease, tasks of family caregivers in managing the daily issues of Alzheimer’s patient, health effects on family caregivers, a presentation of fifteen scholarly studies focusing on impacts of depression on health of family caregivers as well as discussion and conclusion of the finding. The conclusion drawn from the current study may help healthcare providers to develop better interventions for family caregivers in order to improve their health by reducing the impacts of depression.

Psychological and Physiological Health in African American and Caucasian Alzheimer's Caregivers
Psychological and Physiological Health in African American and Caucasian Alzheimer's Caregivers

Author: Lauralyn E. Miles

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13:

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The literature suggests that African American (AA) family caregivers (CGs) of patients with Alzheimer's Disease may suffer from less psychological distress due to caregiving than their Caucasian American (CA) counterparts. This study investigated differences in psychological and physiological health in AA and CA CGs. The roles of religious and ethnic factors were also examined in relation to health indices. Responses of 29 AA and 83 CA CGs who had participated in an intervention study on CG health were compared. A subsample of 44 females (half AA, half CA) matched by age was also created. Data were taken from the first two visits of the parent study. In the first visit, a semi-structured interview, staff collected information about demographics, psychological symptoms, social desirability, religious and ethnic experiences, and patient factors. In the second visit, a stress-test protocol, blood pressure was collected using a Finapres monitor while heart rate and heart period variability were collected via electrocardiography. Hypotheses included: (1) depressive symptoms would be lower in AAs than in CAs; (2) correspondingly, AAs would demonstrate reduced sympathoadrenal medullary (SAM) reactivity; (3) a negative relationship would exist between religiousness and health indices in both ethnic groups, but there would be a more pronounced effect in AAs; and (4) higher ethnic identity and acculturation would correspond to lower reactivity on SAM indices in AAs. Statistical analyses, consisting of ANCOVAs and MANCOVAs, revealed partial support for hypotheses. Results for the main and subsample indicated that AAs showed fewer depressive symptoms than CAs (p = .003); AAs demonstrated lower levels of reactivity than CAs on heart period variability (p = .01), but similar levels on systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate; religiousness had no value in explaining health differences between ethnic groups; and ethnic factors had little value in differentiating outcomes in AAs. It was concluded that AAs may have a buffer to the stress of caregiving, but this mechanism is not well understood. This study aids in furthering the understanding of the risks associated with caregiving in AAs and CAs, and can inform the field about the need for culturally-specific intervention programs.

The Psychological Health Implications of Social Support for the Alzheimer Caregiver
The Psychological Health Implications of Social Support for the Alzheimer Caregiver

Author: Martha Johanna Coetsee

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Apart from the personal and socioeconomic burdens of dementia, the immense, intangible emotional and psychological suffering endured by dementia patients, their carers and families are difficult to quantify. Alzheimer's dementia (AD) accounts for over 50% of all dementias and is responsible for a large percentage of morbidity and mortality in older adults. It is also recognised as a disease qualitatively distinct from the normal ageing process. Identified almost 95 years ago by Alois Alzheimer, it poses a seminal problem, which in the twenty-first century is compounded by the predicted extension in human longevity. Caregivers thus bear a considerable financial, social and emotional burden due to the progressive debilitating nature of the disease. It is hypothesised that social support buffers the individual from the negative emotional effects of stressful circumstances associated with the caregiving process: and although the inevitable course of the disease cannot be stopped, improving support to caregivers may decrease feelings of isolation and improve psychological health. Caregivers of AD patients often report experiencing a lack of social support due to the nature and progression of this disease. This study thus aims to investigate the relationship between real and/or perceived social support and psychological health (depression, loneliness, and perceived burden of care) amongst a cohort of Alzheimer's caregivers. The following standardised measuring instruments were used to elicit data: the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), UCLA Loneliness Scale, Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ85) and a biographical questionnaire. Data were analysed using correlation and regression statistical techniques. The main findings of this study were that there is a significant positive correlation between loneliness and depression: loneliness and personal strain (burden) as well as both role and personal strain (burden) with depression. A significant negative correlation was also found between perceived social support and loneliness. Additional findings were that participants with higher educational qualifications experienced more personal strain and role strain (burden): caregivers with patients in the two younger age groups scored higher on the BDI-II: and the cognitive status of the patient correlated with the burden experienced by the caregiver. A significant negative correlation between summaries of reactions (burden) and duration of caregiving was also reported.

Physical Illness and Depression in Older Adults
Physical Illness and Depression in Older Adults

Author: Gail M. Williamson

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-05-11

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 0306471787

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With people living longer, often with chronic illnesses and disabilities, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how depression, disability, and physical illnesses are interrelated, the mechanisms underlying these interrelationships, and their implications for diagnosis and treatment. This volume synthesizes a carefully selected portion of the knowledge about physical illness and depression that has emerged during the past twenty years.