The Importance Of Caregivers Of Dementia

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Introduction Dementia is a chronic and progressive syndrome that affects the elderly resulting in the deterioration of intellect and cognitive function such as memory, judgement, orientation and the ability to process thoughts. Dementia is estimated to affect 50 million adults worldwide every year [1]. In Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that dementia affected approximately 20,000 Singaporean elderly in 2010, corresponding to a prevalence of 5.7% among elderly aged 65 years and above [2]. More recently, a cross-sectional survey done in 2015 reported that the prevalence of dementia had increased to 10% in the elderly population of Singapore [3]. Given the high prevalence of dementia in the elderly population, it is no surprise …show more content…

The declining cognitive function and unpredictable behaviour of dementia sufferers makes caring for them a difficult and challenging task. As a result, caregivers providing care for dementia sufferers face high physical, emotional and psychological stress [1]. This causes caregivers of dementia sufferers to be at high risk of developing burn-out and other health complications. Thus, it is essential to understand the challenges and burden faced by caregivers of dementia and the resulting effect of caregiving on caregivers’ overall well-being. Objectives • Understand the burden felt by caregivers of dementia sufferers in the Singapore community • Identify the socioeconomic factors associated with different levels of caregiving burden perceived by caregivers of dementia sufferers • Assess the effect of caregiving on caregivers’ overall well-being and health Methods A. Target Participants The target participants of this questionnaire are caregivers of dementia sufferers. A total of 200 caregivers caring for dementia sufferers will be recruited from the pool of family members accompanying dementia sufferers when they visit geriatric clinics for routine consultations. The inclusion criteria for recruitment are as …show more content…

Main Construct Definition Caregiver burden is the stress borne by an individual who cares for a chronically ill, disabled or elderly family member. Figure 1: Breakdown of caregiver burden into different sub-themes D. Definition of Sub-Constructs We further dissected the main theme of caregiver burden into 4 sub-constructs as follows: • Physical stress defined as the body’s response to deal with stress, including physical manifestations such as headaches, elevated blood pressure, trouble sleeping etc. • Psychological/emotional stress defined as negative emotional reactions experienced by an individual and includes fear, anger, anxiety and suffering. • Social stress defined as situations that threaten an individual’s relationships, esteem or sense of belonging in a group or larger social context. • Financial stress defined as the economic hardship associated with the monetary cost of caring for an individual (our own definition). E. Demographics Demographic data such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, relationship to care recipient will be collected from the caregivers who consent to take the questionnaire to correct for any baseline confounders if present. F. Measurement of Socioeconomic Status