People with Alzheimer's disease and their spouse-caregivers: differences in perceptions of sexual satisfaction?

Abstract

Older informal caregivers aged 65+ years account for 34% of all carers in the USA (Family Caregivers Alliance, 2016), 22% in England and Wales (Carers UK, 2015), and 24% in Australia (Deloitte Access Economics, 2015). For many older carers, this means looking after their spouse or intimate partner who in many cases has dementia (Donnellan et al., 2015). As the incidence of dementia increases, the need to understand the impact of caring on these intimate relationships becomes more vital, so the experiences of spousal caregivers can be anticipated, validated, and supported. It is also important to understand the gender differences in these care relationships, so that education and services can be tailored to meet the different needs of men and women caregivers. Sexual activity in later life is associated with both mental and physical health (Ganong and Larson, 2011; Anderson, 2013), and is therefore, important to maintain, perhaps even in the context of caring for someone with dementia.