Caregiver Support Service Needs for Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Little is known about the service needs for persons caring for individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). In this study, the level of support service need for caregivers of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD; N=55) and MCI (N=25) was compared to normal controls (NC; N=44). Study partners (i.e., caregivers) completed questionnaires about their service needs and participants' neurobehavioral symptoms, functional abilities, and frailty. Total, social, and mental health service needs were significantly different among the three groups (p<.0001), with MCI and AD caregivers reporting more need for services as compared to the NC group. There was no significant difference between MCI and AD groups for total and social service need. In the MCI group, caregiver's service need was related to neurobehavioral symptoms and frailty, whereas service need among the AD caregivers was related to functional disability and frailty. Caregivers of individuals with MCI are already experiencing a need for increased services comparable to that of individuals caring for AD patients, though the pattern of patient-related factors is different between the two patient groups. These findings suggest possible areas of intervention that could be considered at the earliest stages of memory loss. Key words/phrasesmild cognitive impairment; Alzheimer's disease; service need; support services; caregiver The term Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has been used to describe the transitional phase between normal functioning and Alzheimer's disease (AD) 1 . According to Petersen and colleagues'1 original criterion, amnestic MCI is diagnosed when there is a subjective memory complaint as well as evidence of objective memory impairment in the context of intact activities of daily living and general intellectual abilities. Peterson2 later broadened the criterion to include two primary subtypes of MCI: amnestic and nonamnestic MCI. The broader definition of MCI acknowledges the possibility of other cognitive complaints or deficits in other areas besides memory. Many studies indicate that MCI progresses to AD at a relatively high rate, from 13-48% over 12-60 months 3 -5 . The cognitive and functional changes associated with the progression to AD as well as the potential for a longer disease course among individuals with MCI likely pose a unique set of challenges for caregivers or family members who provide assistance to or care for these patients. There is extensive literature on care burden by family Although no research exists on what formal support services family members of patients with MCI use, there is some evidence to suggest that spouses of patients with MCI are experiencing increased caregiver burden [13][14] . Garand and her colleagues 14 reported that MCI spouses/ caregivers endorsed an increase in caregiving responsibilities such as greater frequency of errands, more coordination of transportation, and greater management of business affairs and medications. Lifestyle constraints and increase in household responsibilit...

The relationship of neuropsychological function to instrumental activities of daily living in mild cognitive impairment

“…Individuals with MCI were rated by their informants as having more difficulties in performing IADL compared to cognitively normal participants. These results are consistent with previous studies showing that disturbances in IADL are present in MCI (Tuokko et al, 2005;Perneczky et al, 2006;Wadley et al, 2007) and support the finding that MCI is associated with greater need for support service not only for individuals with MCI but also for their caregivers (Ryan et al, 2010). MCI may represent a functional status between the subtle decrements associated with ageing and more severe deficits associated with dementia (Wadley et al, 2007).…”

Benefits of psychodynamic group therapy on depression, burden and quality of life of family caregivers to Alzheimer&#8217;s disease patients

“…The sum of all these factors is likely to generate anxiety, emotional distress and ultimately depression, which can further impair the caregiver's capacity to accurately assist the patient with dementia. The preservation of physical and mental health of family caregivers to dementia patients must be understood as an asset to the efficient and ethical fulfillment of this important role [7][8][9] . There is an estimate of 46% of increase in the demand for healthcare services for AD patient caregivers 10 .…”

Patient Mood and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Alzheimer Disease

“…These cognitive deficits are thought to limit patients' ability to complete activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADL (IADLs) 5-8 that can increase the need for health care services and place a burden on the caregivers. 9,10 Patients with AD also often present with dysregulation of mood, 11 with estimates of prevalence ranging from 20% to 51%. [12][13][14] Major depressive symptoms often contribute to adverse health outcomes [15][16][17][18][19][20] and impair functional abilities [21][22][23][24] even in healthy adults.…”