Patterns of use of time by family caregivers of elderly persons with dementia

Elcyana Bezerra Carvalho,Anita Liberalesso Neri

doi:10.1590/1981-22562019022.180143

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: to describe patterns of use of time in family caregivers of elderly people with dementia, considering the characteristics of the caregivers, the care recipients and the context. Method: Fifty family caregivers of elderly people with intermediate and high levels of physical and cognitive disability participated in an interview about time spent on obligatory care activities over four periods of six hours during a 24-hour period. In addition, a questionnaire about social activities, scales of physical and cognitive functionality of the elderly and an inventory of burden in the family caregivers were applied. Results: 88.0% of the caregivers were women, with a mean age of 57.9 (±11.2) years; 45.92% of the time of the caregivers was used in care activities, 36.92% in discretionary activities, 31.17% in recuperation, and 25.67% in the obligatory activities of the life of the caregiver. The greater the dependence, the longer the care, the less time for self-care and greater the caregivers’ subjective burden. Conclusion: The level of dependence of elderly persons affected by dementia results in an increase in caregiving time and competes with other activities performed by the caregiver. Reorganization of the use of time by family caregivers and provision of formal support can reduce the caregiving burden and benefit the well-being of caregivers.

Highlights

The first studies on the use of time by family caregivers were conducted by Moss et al.[1] and were based on the time budgets methodology, which involves the daily estimating of time spent on activities
A descriptive study was carried out with a convenience sample composed of 50 family caregivers of elderly people with dementia assisted at the Integrated Medical Care Center of the University of Fortaleza (NAMI/UNIFOR, Brazil) and at the Brazilian Alzheimer’s Association Ceará Region (ABRAz-CE) support service, who agreed to participate in the study, whose data collection occurred form May to July 2017
The present study investigated relationships between the use of time of family caregivers of elderly persons with dementia, considering the circumstances under which care was provided

Summary

Introduction

The first studies on the use of time by family caregivers were conducted by Moss et al.[1] and were based on the time budgets methodology, which involves the daily estimating of time spent on activities. Most family caregivers are spouses or daughters of the care recipients, do not perform paid work outside home, have low levels of schooling, reside with the care recipient, and are the sole or main caregivers[5,6,7], possibly assisted by relatives and friends. The presence of these secondary caregivers tends to cause distortions in estimates of the use of time of primary caregivers[3,8]. In Brazil, the role of domestic workers in the care of dependent elderly persons tends to be seen as part of domestic chores, which is another source of distortion[9]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion