Experiences of caregivers by care recipient's health condition: A study of caregivers for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias versus other chronic conditions.
Weizhou Tang, Daniela B Friedman, Kristie Kannaley and 8 others
PMID 30366611WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers for dementia and other chronic conditions reported similar health and support levels.
Higher perceived support significantly reduced the feeling that caregiving interfered with daily life. However, one-quarter rarely or never received needed support.
Key findings
01ADRD and non-ADRD caregivers had similar general health status, performed similar tasks, and identified similar levels of perceived support.
02As perceived support increased, caregivers were significantly less likely to think that caregiving interfered with other activities in their life.
03About one quarter of all caregivers reported that they rarely or never received the type and amount of support that they needed.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample of ADRD caregivers was relatively small, with some subcategories having fewer than 30 cases. The study is cross-sectional, so causal inferences are limited. Survey questions were limited and did not capture all aspects of caregiving, such as specific burden metrics or types of support lacking.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that dementia caregivers have significantly worse health or support outcomes than caregivers of other conditions; the study found no significant differences in these areas.