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The troubles and needs of family caregivers of older adults with moderate to severe dementia
Author(s) -
Leng Minmin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.054110
Subject(s) - dementia , outreach , referral , family caregivers , coping (psychology) , medicine , beijing , psychology , gerontology , nursing , clinical psychology , pathology , political science , law , china , disease
Background To investigate the troubles and needs of family caregivers of older adults with moderate to severe dementia. Method A total of 401 family caregivers from Beijing, Tianjin and other regions were recruited to complete a self‐designed questionnaire. Result The top 5 safety risks among older adults with moderate to severe dementia were irritating cough (30.2%), falls (28.4%), outreach (27.2%), lost (19.0%), and fall of bed (12.2%). The main troubles reported by family caregivers were daily care (82.5%) and coping with psychological and behavioral problems (51.9%). The top five support needs were instruction on psychological adjustment skills (88.5%), skills to cope with psychological and behavioral problems (75.8%), daily care skills (73.1%), safety risk prevention skills (72.8%), case management and referral services (70.8%). The top five ways to access support services were online training (86.5%), online counseling (86.0%), face‐to‐face counseling (84.0%), handbooks (78.8%) and community‐based lectures (74.6%). Conclusion Family caregivers have a variety of needs in the long‐term care of older adults with dementia. It is suggested to establish a needs‐led care support service system for family caregivers that integrates skills instruction, education and training and care services by online and off‐line approaches.