Caregivers of persons with dementia do not use community resources until late in the disease process, despite the fact that judicious use of community resources can delay nursing home admission. Data from the National Caregiver Training Project, based on Hall and Buckwalter's (1987) progressively lowered stress threshold (PLST) model, were used to examine variables related to use of community resources. Spouse and adult child caregivers were divided into two groups based on amount of community resources used per week. Within this geographically diverse sample of caregivers, 64% did not use professional services, 79% did not use respite services, and 65% did not use other services. Being a spouse decreased the odds that the caregiver would use community resources. Resource use was also related to the care recipient's problems with activities of daily living and the increase in frequency of memory and behavioral problems.
These findings provide public health nurses with knowledge about service use in caregivers of PWD. Recommendations regarding caregiver needs for assistance and increased use of services before a crisis ensues are presented.
Caregiver reaction to problem behaviours was more highly associated with impact from caregiving than the actual frequency of the behaviours. These findings have great implications for intervention programs. Caregivers, especially females, need to receive individualized, specific education/training on how to understand and manage disruptive and depressive behaviour in persons with AD.
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between social skills, self-esteem, social support and burden in a sample of adult caregivers. The Gambrill and Richey Assertion Inventory, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Montgomery's Objective and Subjective Burden Scale, Norbeck's Social Support Questionnaire and Sarason's Social Support Questionnaire were administered to a convenience sample of 31 caregivers. Unassertive caregivers had less available social support. Those caregivers who felt more discomfort in situations also had less available social support. Caregivers who had significantly more affection, affirmation and aid from within their social network were found to have higher self-esteem. Those with lower self-esteem reported losing a greater number of important relationships in the past year. Nonassertive caregivers were more likely to experience lower subjective burden.
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