scholarly journals Comparison of the Caregiving Experience of Grief, Burden, and Quality of Life in Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 421-432
Author(s):  
Taylor Rigby ◽  
David K. Johnson ◽  
Angela Taylor ◽  
James E. Galvin

Background: Caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) are faced with numerous challenges. However, little is known about the caregiving experience across different dementias. Objective: The aims of this cross-sectional study were to examine the differences in the caregiver experience between DLB, PDD, and AD. Methods: Respondents were caregivers (N = 515; 384 DLB, 69 AD, 62 PDD) who completed a 230-question survey including sociodemographics, disease severity, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and measures of grief, burden, depression, quality of life, social support, well-being, care confidence, and mastery/self-efficacy. Results: There were no differences in caregiver age, sex, race, or education, or in the distribution of disease severity between diagnostic groups. Constructs were highly intercorrelated with positive attributes (caregiver QoL, care recipient QoL, social support, well-being, mastery and care confidence) being inversely correlated with negative attributes (burden, grief, and depression). Across dementia etiologies, no differences were reported for quality of life, social support, depression, well-being, psychological well-being, mastery, care confidence, burden or grief. Instead, we found that the caregiver’s experience was dependent on caregiver characteristics, person living with dementia characteristics and their most disturbing symptom, with behavior, personality changes, and sleep having the greatest effect on constructs. Conclusion: Caregiver ratings of psychosocial constructs may be more dependent on care recipient-caregiver dyad characteristics and the current symptoms than the underlying cause of those symptoms. Interventions to improve the caregiving experience should be developed to address specific psychosocial constructs rather than focusing on disease etiology or stage.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Rigby ◽  
Robert T Ashwill ◽  
David K Johnson ◽  
James E Galvin

Abstract Background and Objectives Dementia caregiving has been associated with increased burden, depression, grief, a decreased sense of well-being and quality of life, and a weakening of social support. Little is known about the experience of caregiving in Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). The present study examines differences in the caregiving experience of spouse versus adult child caregivers of individuals with DLB. Research Design and Methods In this cross-sectional analytic study of spouses (n = 255) and adult children (n = 160) caregivers of individuals with DLB, participants completed an online survey of burden, grief, depression, well-being, quality of life, and social support. Results Adult child caregivers were more likely to care for women (p < .001) and see the care recipient less often (p < .001) than spouses. Adult child caregivers reported lower quality of life (p < .001) and more caregiver burden (p < .009), but also greater social support (p < .001) than spouses. Between group analyses of caregiver type by disease severity demonstrated that spousal caregivers experience greater grief with advancing disease (p = .005), while adult child caregivers increase social support with advancing disease (p < .001). Discussion and Implications Spouses and adult children experience DLB caregiving differently. This was explained by the younger age of the adult child caregiver, frequency of contact with the care recipient, and differences in the care recipient’s characteristics, frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and disease severity. DLB caregiver support for this population should target psychoeducation for complicated neuropsychiatric symptoms in the care recipient. Screening all DLB caregivers for burden, grief, and depression is suggested to identify those that may benefit most from intervention. Spouses specifically may benefit from interventions that target increasing social support, while adult child caregivers may benefit from interventions aimed at mitigating burden and improving quality of life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen van de Beek ◽  
Inger van Steenoven ◽  
Inez H.G.B. Ramakers ◽  
Pauline Aalten ◽  
Huiberdina L. Koek ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Larsson ◽  
Knut Engedal ◽  
Dag Aarsland ◽  
Carina Wattmo ◽  
Lennart Minthon ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 932-935
Author(s):  
M Adnan ◽  
T Khan ◽  
B Razzaq ◽  
R Ghaffar ◽  
S Batool ◽  
...  

Aim: To ascertain the relationship between quality of life and social support in bipolar patients who have been diagnosed. STUDY DESIGN: cross-sectional research design Place and duration of the study: The research was performed impatiently on the Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, which ran from January 2018 to July of 2019. Method: Data was retrieved from 100 patients, with diagnosed patients of bipolar affective disorder. Quality of life and social support were assessed by quality of life scale (QOLS) developed by Burckhardt and Berline social support scale (BSSS) developed by Berline. Results: Research claims a close relationship between the presence of such things as quality of life and social help for people with Bipolar Disorder. Conclusion: Bipolar is linked to inadequate health and quality of life and social isolation, mostly due to ineffective social skills. Social support is critical to emotional stability and quality of life. It may help patients deal with difficulties and reduce depression and help in both the recovery phase and positive results of psychiatric treatment. What is currently being sought to be learned is how social care has an impact on the level of well-being for bipolar patients. Keywords: Quality of life, bipolar, validation, generalization


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica N Rivera Rivera ◽  
Jessica L Burris

Abstract Background Quality of life is a multidimensional concept that includes perceptions of one’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual functioning, all of which are theorized to be interdependent. The focus of this study is social functioning, which itself is a multidimensional concept that includes social support and social constraint among other things. In cancer survivors, social support receives most of the research attention, but social constraint may have a stronger influence on quality of life. Purpose This systematic literature review evaluates which aspect of social functioning—social support or social constraint—has a stronger relationship with the psychological functioning of cancer survivors. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed in the identification and review of 32 independent records. Multiple measures of social support and social constraint were used across studies, with most having adequate psychometric properties. Psychological outcomes were divided into (a) general distress, (b) cancer-specific distress, (c) general well-being, and (d) cancer-specific well-being. Results For general and cancer-specific distress, social constraint exhibited a larger association with distress than social support. Similarly, for general well-being, most studies reported a stronger association with social constraint than social support. For cancer-specific well-being, the opposite was true such that associations were stronger for social support than social constraint. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of considering social constraint when examining quality-of-life outcomes like psychological distress and well-being. Findings support social constraint as a target in interventions to reduce cancer survivors’ distress, while social support could be considered in attempts to promote cancer-specific well-being.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuo-Yu Lee ◽  
Shih-Jung Cheng ◽  
Hui-Chi Lin ◽  
Yu-Lu Liao ◽  
Pei-Hao Chen

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a complex, multisymptom disorder. When making decisions regarding the treatment of DLB, the patient’s quality of life (QoL) should always be the main consideration. To our knowledge, this is the first review article focusing on the QoL in DLB patients. We searched the PubMed database using the keywords “quality of life” and “dementia with Lewy bodies.” Previously, no specific instrument had been developed for assessing the QoL in DLB patients. Patients with DLB have a decreased QoL compared to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, which is reportedly caused by several factors including level of independence in instrumental activities of daily living, whether the patient is living with the caregiver, apathy, delusion, and dysautonomia. The direct effect of visual hallucination, sleep, and movement disorders on the QoL in DLB patients has not been previously studied. The role of cognitive function on the QoL is still controversial. In a randomized controlled study, memantine may improve the QoL in PDD or DLB patients. We concluded that it is important to develop a specific instrument to assess the QoL in DLB patients. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for large clinical trials to identify factors associated with the QoL and how they can be managed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasheeda K. Hall ◽  
Michael P. Cary ◽  
Tiffany R. Washington ◽  
Cathleen S. Colón-Emeric

Abstract Purpose Patient priorities for quality of life change with age. We conducted a qualitative study to identify quality of life themes of importance to older adults receiving dialysis and the extent to which these are represented in existing quality of life instruments. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 adults aged ≥ 75 years receiving hemodialysis to elicit participant perspectives on what matters most to them in life. We used framework analysis methodology to process interview transcripts (coding, charting, and mapping), identify major themes, and compare these themes by participant frailty status. We examined for representation of our study’s subthemes in the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-36) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older Adults (WHOQOL-OLD) instruments. Results Among the 12 participants, average age was 81 (4.2) years, 7 African-American, 6 women, and 6 met frailty criteria. We identified two major quality of life themes: (1) having physical well-being (subthemes: being able to do things independently, having symptom control, maintaining physical health, and being alive) and (2) having social support (subthemes: having practical social support, emotional social support, and socialization). Perspectives on the subthemes often varied by frailty status. For example, being alive meant surviving from day-to-day for frail participants, but included a desire for new life experiences for non-frail participants. The majority of the subthemes did not correspond with domains in the KDQOL-36 and WHOQOL-OLD instruments. Conclusion Novel instruments are likely needed to elicit the dominant themes of having physical well-being and having social support identified by older adults receiving dialysis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Cheung ◽  
Virginia Young Cureton ◽  
Daryl L. Canham

Quality of life in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes is a growing area of interest in pediatric research. The complex diabetes regimen imposes challenges for an adolescent. Adolescents diagnosed with diabetes are a group that appears to be at risk for having a poor health-related quality of life. Although research supports the positive relationship of social support and well-being in adolescents, there are few studies discussing quality of life in adolescents that are based on the factor of social support. This study compared the quality of life in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes who have attended at least one diabetes camp to the quality of life of those who have never attended diabetes camp. Results provided evidence of the value of social support.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document