THE TERMINAL ALZHEIMER' PATIENT THEIR CAREGIVERS NEEDS.

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in western society. Due to the invalidating nature, the social impact of this disease is high, as patients need soon the presence of a caregiver. For these reasons, the social and economic costs of Alzheimer’s disease are of considerable importance. The objectives of this study are to ascertain the principal caregiver’s needs, to identify activities which are performed at a high cost to caregivers in terms of physical, financial and psychological resources and to assess if caregivers have the required resources to perform them. This is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, non-comparative and prospective study. Our sample was composed of 35 caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients of a geriatric residence (Residencia Geriátrica San Basilio, Murcia) and a Clinic (Clínica Belén, Murcia). A convenience sampling was used. Just the caregivers who accepted to participate were enrolled in this study. In our survey, the data were collected by means of a questionnaire, which was administered from April 20 through April 25 of the same year. Data analyses were performed using Microsoft EXCEL software. According to the caregivers, the most costly activity was the hygiene of patients (80%). In this line, 77% of participants stated that this activity was the most time-consuming. They also refer that they would need help from the multidisciplinary team for bathing the patients. In this sample, caregivers have the resources to perform the activities required but they would like to be helped in areas such as nutrition administration, handling medicines, mobilization of patients and postural changes and prevention of pressure ulcers.