Association Between Family Caregiver Burden and Affiliate Stigma in the Families of People with Dementia.

Jian-An Su,Chih-Cheng Chang

doi:10.3390/ijerph17082772

Abstract

Family caregivers of people with dementia (PWD) have a heavy care burden. Affiliate stigma is the stigma internalized by individuals associated with PWD. Limited research has addressed the affiliate stigma among caregivers of PWD and its influence on caregiver burden. Thus, our study investigated the burden of caregivers of PWD and its relationship with affiliate stigma. In addition, we examined the factors related to affiliate stigma. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a general hospital in Taiwan. We recruited 270 PWD and their family caregivers from the outpatient department. Relevant demographic and clinical assessment data of the patients and caregivers were evaluated. Regression analysis was performed to examine the factors associated with affiliate stigma. In total, 23.7% of the family caregivers had depression and 37.4% had anxiety. Male caregivers had higher levels of anxiety and heavier care burdens related to affiliate stigma compared with female caregivers. Moreover, characteristics such as younger age and low levels of dependence in daily activities among PWD were associated with increased affiliate stigma. A higher family caregiver burden was related to more severe affiliate stigma. Interventions for decreasing the family caregiver burden might reduce the effect of affiliate stigma.

Highlights

According to the report of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) in 2019, the incidence of dementia is increasing rapidly
This study examined the relationship between caregiver burden and affiliate stigma as well as the factors related to people with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers that affected affiliate stigma
The results indicated that male sex, high anxiety levels, and high caregiver burden were the factors related to caregivers that affected affiliate stigma

Summary

Introduction

According to the report of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) in 2019, the incidence of dementia is increasing rapidly. 50 million people globally are estimated to have dementia. This number is expected to triple by 2050 [1]. According to the annual report of ADI, approximately half of the family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s stated that their health, work, and social life had suffered. Many factors have been reported to affect the perceived burden in caring for family members with dementia. The factors influencing the aforementioned burden include those related to people with dementia (PWD), such as disease severity, behavior problems, and disease duration [2,3,4], as well as factors related to caregivers, such as kinship, gender, coping strategies, and supporting resources [2,3]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion