Stress and Depression in Family Members of Patients with De-mentia in Urban and Rural Communities: Cross-Sectional Sur-veys in Korea

Background: We compared the associations of socioeconomic factors with stress and depression among family members living with a dementia patient in urban and rural areas of South Korea. Methods: Data were collected from 9,730 (4,560 urban and 5,170 rural) participants in the Korean Community Health Survey from 2014-17. The variable of interest was the presence of a cohabitating dementia patient, and the dependent variables were stress and depression. Results: Family members living with a dementia patient in rural areas had a significantly lower socioeconomic status (education, household income, marital status, and employment) than those living in urban areas (p<0.001). In addition, family members living with a dementia patient in rural areas reported statistically significantly less stress and depression than did those in urban areas after adjusting for related factors(rural stress OR=0.87, 95% CI=0.80-0.95; rural depression OR=0.75, 95% CI=0.66-0.85). Female gender and a low family income were associated with stress and depression in both rural and urban areas. Age, educational attainment, number of family members, marital status, and employment status differed slightly between urban and rural areas. Conclusion: The socioeconomic factors associated with stress and depression differ slightly in the rural and urban areas of South Korea.

Caregiver Burden Is Associated With Dementia Patient Cognitive Performance in NHATS

Informal caregivers of dementia patients engage in multicomponent care that is often stressful. In heart failure patients, caregiver burden has been associated with occurrence of cardiovascular events. However, little is known about how caregiver burden affects patient cognition in dementia care dyads. Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving, we examined the association between caregiver burden, assessed on 38 aspects of caring, and patient cognition, assessed with the immediate and delay word recall, Clock Drawing, and self-rated memory. In fully adjusted models at round 7 (2017) higher caregiver burden was cross-sectionally associated with lower immediate (B=-0.02, 95% CI -0.03, -0.01) and delayed (B=-0.03, 95% CI -0.04, -0.02) word recall. Longitudinally, across rounds 7-9 (2017-2019) higher burden was associated with lower patient Clock Draw score (B=-0.01, 95% CI -0.03, -0.001). These findings have implications for economic assistance and interventions in dementia care dyad.

A Perspective Roadmap for IoMT-Based Early Detection and Care of the Neural Disorder, Dementia

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has emerged as one of the most important key applications of IoT. IoMT makes the diagnosis and care more convenient and reliable with proven results. The paper presents the technology, open issues, and challenges of IoMT-based systems. It explores the various types of sensors and smart equipment based on IoMT and used for diagnosis and patient care. A comprehensive survey of early detection and postdetection care of the neural disorder dementia is conducted. The paper also presents a postdiagnosis dementia care model named “Demencare.” This model incorporates eight sensors capable of tracking the daily routine of dementia patient. The patients can be monitored locally by an edge computing device kept at their premises. The medical experts may also monitor the patients’ status for any deviation from normal behavior. IoMT enables better postdiagnosis care for neural disorders, like dementia and Alzheimer’s. The patient’s behavior and vital parameters are always available despite the remote location of the patients. The data of the patients may be classified, and new insights may be obtained to tackle patients in a better manner.

Psychological distress of dementia patient caregivers residing in Russia and Kazakhstan

The present work addresses the question of psychological distress of the caregivers of patients with dementia. The research covers caregivers residing in Russia and Kazakhstan. The thesis starts with concluding the pre-existing knowledge on the research question, from which the author develops the methods for collection of the primary data. Methodology of the research is designed to analyze the data in a qualitative approach. The thesis builds an understanding of the state of psychological distress in which caregivers of Kazakhstan and Russia live in. To do that, the author conducted a survey with range of multiple choice and open questions that examined the stress triggers and proof of the existence of stress in their lives based on answers. A total of 52 active caregivers answered to a survey consisting of 22 questions. The results show that Russian and Kazakhstani caregivers experience moderate to severe levels of psychological distress due to insufficient funding and informational support, among other reasons.

Development and Effect of Virtual Reality Practice Program for Improving Practical Competency of Caregivers Specializing in Dementia

The number of dementia patients in Korea is increasing with the increase in the elderly population. Accordingly, the importance of the role of the caregivers, who are the main care worker other than the family, is increasing. Therefore, in this study, a virtual reality practice program was developed to enhance the practical competency of caregivers who take care of dementia patients, and the effects were analyzed. The caregiver said that among the mental behaviors of dementia patients, aggression and delusion were the most difficult. Based on this information, a practice program was developed by realizing a case of a male dementia patient who expressed refusal to bathing help as an aggressive behavior due to delusion in virtual reality, and the effect of the virtual reality practice program was analyzed for five caregivers. As a result, ‘interest in new teaching methods’, ‘improving concentration of practical education based on real cases’, and ‘increasing confidence in caring for dementia patients’ were found. As this study is a pilot test, it is necessary to repeat the study with more subjects in the future, and to develop virtual reality implementation cases for various mental and behavioral symptoms.

Nurses’ Experience of Nursing Workload-Related Issues during Caring Patients with Dementia: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

The behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), which appear in all dementia patients, demand sizable commitments of time and effort from nurses. This study aims to identify issues related to the workloads of nurses who provide care for dementia patients via qualitative meta-synthesis. Eleven articles were selected using a systematic review flowchart, which were then evaluated for their quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist. Collected data were analyzed using a line-of-argument method. Theme clusters were “increased workload due to characteristics of dementia”, “increased mental stress”, “difficulty associated with playing a mediator role in addition to nursing duties”, and “lacking systematic support for dementia patient care”. To reduce the workload and mental stress of nurses in dementia care, supportive measures appropriate for their occupational characteristics should be developed, based on workload estimates that account for the attributes of dementia patients.