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P2‐340: Quality of informal care of persons with dementia
Author(s) -
McClendon McKee,
Smyth Kathleen
Publication year - 2012
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 - 10.1016/j.jalz.2012.05.1049
Subject(s) - dementia , neuroticism , psychology , extraversion and introversion , punitive damages , health care , coping (psychology) , clinical psychology , personality , medicine , big five personality traits , social psychology , disease , pathology , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Background: Providing care for an elderly with dementia has been described as a stressful experience that may erode psychological well-being of caregivers.Methods:A survey was conducted with 21 family caregivers. They were aged 37 to 77 years (mean 59 years), being 66.7% female and 57.1% spouses of patients with AD, 47.6% had higher education, 61.9% worked outside the home, 66.5% had monthly household income of up to five minimum wages (R$ 3,110.00) and 80% of caregivers lived in the same household as the elderly with AD. Procedures: Interviews were conducted with caregivers, using a sociodemographics form, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale (health, physical ability, mental capacity and social involvement), Positive Affect and Negative Affects Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale. For statistical analysis we used the Spearman’s correlation coefficient (rs), considered statistically significant when P< 0. 05). Results: The statistically significant results were: positive association between positive affect and satisfaction with life (rs 1⁄4 0.648), between positive affect and satisfaction with health (rs1⁄4 0.497), between satisfaction with life and satisfaction with social involvement (rs 1⁄4 0.597), between satisfaction with physical ability and satisfaction with health (rs 1⁄4 0.697), between satisfaction with physical ability and satisfaction with the mental capacity (rs 1⁄4 0.476). We found negative associations between measures: positive affect and depressive symptoms (rs 1⁄4 -0.868), satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms (rs 1⁄4 -0.501), satisfaction with health and depressive symptoms (rs1⁄4 -0.468).Conclusions: The relationship betweenmeasures of psychological well-being studied among caregivers of elderly patients with AD is consistent with findings in the literature. Depressive symptoms are correlated with lower levels of subjective well-being.