Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease

Caring for a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease has a negative impact on family caregivers’ psychological health. This study examined the factors related to ‘perceived health’ and ‘presence of new-onset mental health problems’ in fam...

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Main Authors: María Dolores Ruiz-Fernández, José Manuel Hernández-Padilla, Rocío Ortiz-Amo, Cayetano Fernández-Sola, Isabel María Fernández-Medina, José Granero-Molina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/19/3762
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language English
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author María Dolores Ruiz-Fernández
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla
Rocío Ortiz-Amo
Cayetano Fernández-Sola
Isabel María Fernández-Medina
José Granero-Molina
spellingShingle María Dolores Ruiz-Fernández
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla
Rocío Ortiz-Amo
Cayetano Fernández-Sola
Isabel María Fernández-Medina
José Granero-Molina
Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
alzheimer’s disease
nursing
caregiver
risk
protection
perceived health
mental health problems
author_facet María Dolores Ruiz-Fernández
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla
Rocío Ortiz-Amo
Cayetano Fernández-Sola
Isabel María Fernández-Medina
José Granero-Molina
author_sort María Dolores Ruiz-Fernández
title Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
title_short Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
title_fullStr Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full_unstemmed Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
title_sort predictor factors of perceived health in family caregivers of people diagnosed with mild or moderate alzheimer’s disease
publisher MDPI AG
series International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
issn 1660-4601
publishDate 2019-10-01
description Caring for a person diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease has a negative impact on family caregivers&#8217; psychological health. This study examined the factors related to &#8216;perceived health&#8217; and &#8216;presence of new-onset mental health problems&#8217; in family caregivers of people diagnosed with mild and moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. A cross-sectional observational study carried out in Almeria&#8217;s Healthcare District (Spain). A total of 255 family caregivers (42.4% cared for people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease and 57.6% cared for people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease) participated in the study from January to December 2015. Mainly, caregivers were women (81.5% in the mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease group and 88.4% in the moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease group), and their average age was 56.54 years (standard deviation (SD) = 13.13) and 54.47 years (SD = 11.71), respectively. Around 47% of the caregivers had been caring for the person with Alzheimer&#8217;s between two and five years. The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire was used to measure perceived health and the presence of new-onset mental health problems. An exploratory descriptive analysis and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted. For caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, &#8216;perceived health&#8217; was related to &#8216;perceived social support&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.21; <i>p</i> = 0.028), &#8216;person&#8217;s level of dependency&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.24, <i>p</i> = 0.05), &#8216;severity of the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.22; <i>p</i> = 0.05), and &#8216;caregiver&#8217;s emotional distress in response to the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.22; <i>p</i> = 0.05). For caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, &#8216;perceived health&#8217; was related to &#8216;perceived social support&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.31; <i>p</i> ˂ 0.01), &#8216;presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.27, <i>p</i> = 0.01), &#8216;severity of the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.32, <i>p</i> = 0.01) and &#8216;caregiver&#8217;s emotional distress in response to the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.029; <i>p</i> = 0.01). The presence of new-onset mental health problems was detected in 46.3% (<i>n</i> = 50) of caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s and 61.9% (<i>n</i> = 91) of caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s. When people are diagnosed with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, intervention programs for caregivers should aim to regulate emotions and promote positive coping strategies. When people are diagnosed with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, intervention programs for caregivers must allow them to adapt to caregiving demands that arise with the progression of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease.
topic alzheimer’s disease
nursing
caregiver
risk
protection
perceived health
mental health problems
url https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/19/3762
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spelling doaj-1a79963b8184498e9c31ed9be0a965572020-11-24T21:41:24ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012019-10-011619376210.3390/ijerph16193762ijerph16193762Predictor Factors of Perceived Health in Family Caregivers of People Diagnosed with Mild or Moderate Alzheimer’s DiseaseMaría Dolores Ruiz-Fernández0José Manuel Hernández-Padilla1Rocío Ortiz-Amo2Cayetano Fernández-Sola3Isabel María Fernández-Medina4José Granero-Molina5Department of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainDepartment of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainDepartment of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainDepartment of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainDepartment of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainDepartment of Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainCaring for a person diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease has a negative impact on family caregivers&#8217; psychological health. This study examined the factors related to &#8216;perceived health&#8217; and &#8216;presence of new-onset mental health problems&#8217; in family caregivers of people diagnosed with mild and moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. A cross-sectional observational study carried out in Almeria&#8217;s Healthcare District (Spain). A total of 255 family caregivers (42.4% cared for people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease and 57.6% cared for people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease) participated in the study from January to December 2015. Mainly, caregivers were women (81.5% in the mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease group and 88.4% in the moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease group), and their average age was 56.54 years (standard deviation (SD) = 13.13) and 54.47 years (SD = 11.71), respectively. Around 47% of the caregivers had been caring for the person with Alzheimer&#8217;s between two and five years. The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire was used to measure perceived health and the presence of new-onset mental health problems. An exploratory descriptive analysis and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted. For caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, &#8216;perceived health&#8217; was related to &#8216;perceived social support&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.21; <i>p</i> = 0.028), &#8216;person&#8217;s level of dependency&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.24, <i>p</i> = 0.05), &#8216;severity of the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.22; <i>p</i> = 0.05), and &#8216;caregiver&#8217;s emotional distress in response to the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.22; <i>p</i> = 0.05). For caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, &#8216;perceived health&#8217; was related to &#8216;perceived social support&#8217; (<i>r</i> = &#8722;0.31; <i>p</i> ˂ 0.01), &#8216;presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.27, <i>p</i> = 0.01), &#8216;severity of the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.32, <i>p</i> = 0.01) and &#8216;caregiver&#8217;s emotional distress in response to the person&#8217;s neuropsychiatric symptoms&#8217; (<i>r</i> = 0.029; <i>p</i> = 0.01). The presence of new-onset mental health problems was detected in 46.3% (<i>n</i> = 50) of caregivers of people with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s and 61.9% (<i>n</i> = 91) of caregivers of people with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s. When people are diagnosed with mild Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, intervention programs for caregivers should aim to regulate emotions and promote positive coping strategies. When people are diagnosed with moderate Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, intervention programs for caregivers must allow them to adapt to caregiving demands that arise with the progression of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/19/3762alzheimer’s diseasenursingcaregiverriskprotectionperceived healthmental health problems