Needs analysis of family caregivers of people living with dementia in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta.

Abstract

Without appropriate support, taking care of people living with dementia may become a burden for family caregivers. Identifying the needs for caregivers can help them minimise the burden of caring and meet quality care for people living with dementia. In the first phase, a content validity test was conducted on the Carers' Needs Assessment of Dementia (CNA-D) in the Indonesian version. The second phase, a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, was conducted on 65 family caregivers in two stages. The first stage was a cross-sectional study. A correlation test between caregiver problems and caregiver burden was conducted. The caregiver problems that were statistically significant were analyzed to reveal the unmet needs. A needs analysis was also conducted on problems experienced by more than half of the caregivers. In the second stage, we conducted a semi-structured individual interview, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The result of the validity test of the CNA-D instrument, Indonesian version, obtained a high value for content validity. The main problem of caregivers is a lack of information about dementia; however, it does not have a significant correlation with caregiver burden. The caregiver problem with the highest correlation to caregiver burden is burnout due to caring. More than 50% of caregivers' needs in Sleman Regency were not met in this research. The most essential needs that were not met were counselling and psychotherapy (83.3%-92%). The personal understanding of dementia, spiritual values in caring, cultural values in caring, barriers to accessing healthcare services, and self-care strategies should be considered in fulfilling family caregiver needs. Most of the needs of family caregivers of people living with dementia in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta, have not been met. Therefore, it requires collaboration with multi-professionals and all stakeholders to fulfil these needs.