Abstract
Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine the effect of planned education upon the quality of life and care burden for caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Materials and Methods: This study, a planned pre-test post-test model with semi-experimental design, was undertaken with the caregivers for 60 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Data were collected using Information Request Form, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and WHOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Scales. Caregivers were divided into groups of 10 participants each and a 45–60 minute planned educational program on caring for Alzheimer’s patients was provided to each group in 5 sessions. ZBI and Quality of Life Scales were again administered to the caregivers in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd months following completion of the education. Results: Results were assessed using percentage distributions, Chi-square test, and Pearson Correlation analysis. Care burden of caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients decreased following the planned education and there was a significant and negative correlation between care burden and quality of life. As care burden decreased, quality of life increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: A planned educational program reduced the care burden experienced by caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients and affected their quality of life positively. It is recommended that planned education programs be reinforced with continuous counseling services in order to minimize the care burden experienced by these caregivers and to maximize their quality of life. Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Caregiver; Care burden; Quality of life DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/75-06
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and degenerative disease of the brain that causes multiple cognitive areas to become seriously impaired and results in a decline in functional abilities and behavioral changes.[1]
A statistically significant and negative correlation existed between scores of Quality of Life psychological domain (r=−0.458, p=0.000), social domain (r=−0.291, p=0.016) and total quality of life scale score (r =−0.475, p=0.000) and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) total score
Wang et al found an average age for caregivers of 51.00±14.71 years, while Montgomery et al found an average age for caregivers of 53.90±11.00.15,16 In the current study, the majority of caregivers were family members and housewives
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and degenerative disease of the brain that causes multiple cognitive areas to become seriously impaired and results in a decline in functional abilities and behavioral changes.[1]. Special Issue of Health Sciences An International Peer-reviewed Journal www.iiste.org according to estimates by the World Health Organization, it is predicted that Turkey will be one of four countries in the world that will have the highest number of Alzheimer patients by 2050.2 Since all of an individual’s life functions are changed by AD, individuals undergo progressive losses in physical and cognitive functioning, become unable to manage their lives by themselves and need the support of caregivers.[4,5] Caregivers for patients diagnosed with AD are obliged to maximize activities of daily living of those for whom they provide care as well as their own.[6] The caregiver role can produce changes in intra-familial roles, affect the social life of families negatively, lead to domestic problems, and affect caregivers’ physical, and psychological health negatively. They need to explore homecare needs, find existing and potential problems, plan and provide education about the needs of the patients and their caregivers and provide them with counseling.[10,11] Supporting caregivers of AD patients through planned educational programs and continuous counseling services will help both patients and family members lead better lives and improve their ability to cope with care-problems more actively
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