Family caregivers of people with dementia.

TLDR

Family caregivers of people with dementia, often called the invisible second patients, are essential to care recipients’ quality of life but typically experience high burden, psychological morbidity, social isolation, physical ill-health, and financial hardship, though some factors can mitigate or worsen these effects. The study aims to promote comprehensive dementia care by fostering partnerships between health professionals and family caregivers, facilitating referrals to Alzheimer’s associations, and implementing psychosocial interventions when appropriate. The authors propose a model that integrates partnership building, referral pathways to Alzheimer’s associations, and targeted psychosocial interventions. Psychosocial interventions effectively reduce caregiver burden and depression and postpone nursing home admission.

Abstract

Family caregivers of people with dementia, often called the invisible second patients, are critical to the quality of life of the care recipients. The effects of being a family caregiver, though sometimes positive, are generally negative, with high rates of burden and psychological morbidity as well as social isolation, physical ill-health, and financial hardship. Caregivers vulnerable to adverse effects can be identified, as can factors which ameliorate or exacerbate burden and strain. Psychosocial interventions have been demonstrated to reduce caregiver burden and depression and delay nursing home admission. Comprehensive management of the patient with dementia includes building a partnership between health professionals and family caregivers, referral to Alzheimer's Associations, and psychosocial interventions where indicated.