Day care for dementia patients from a family caregiver's point of view: A questionnaire study on expected quality and predictors of utilisation - Part II

BackgroundThe investigation of the predictive variables for utilisation of day care and the views of family caregivers of dementia patients about quality of day care are the goals of this work.MethodsThe cross-sectional study was carried out as an anonymous written survey of family caregivers of dementia patients in Germany. Participants were 404 family caregivers of dementia patients, of these 128 were users of day care, 269 were non-users and 7 gave no details about utilisation. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using qualitative content analysis and binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe assessment of how helpful day care is for the individual care situation and the age of the family caregiver are significant predictors for utilisation of day care. Caregivers most frequently cited a programme of activities suited to the abilities of the dementia patients as quality criterion.ConclusionsIn order to reduce the number of those caregivers who think they don't need day care compared with the number who really don't need it, caregivers should be transparently informed of the relevant advantages and quality principles of using day care. According to caregivers' wishes, the organisation of day care centres must include activities suited for dementia patients.

[1]  R. Digiuseppe,et al.  Factors Associated With Formal Service Use by Family Members of Patients With Dementia , 1998 .

[2]  D. gallagher-Thompson,et al.  Evidence-based psychological treatments for distress in family caregivers of older adults. , 2007, Psychology and aging.

[3]  G. Lamura,et al.  Erfahrungen von pflegenden Angehörigen älterer Menschen in Europa bei der Inanspruchnahme von Unterstützungsleistungen , 2006, Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie.

[4]  M. Young,et al.  Health services research , 2008, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[5]  H. Brodaty,et al.  Respite care for caregivers and people with severe mental illness: literature review. , 2005, Journal of advanced nursing.

[6]  E. Gräßel.  When Home Care Ends—Changes in the Physical Health of Informal Caregivers Caring for Dementia Patients: A Longitudinal Study , 2002 .

[7]  L. Hebert,et al.  The effect of adult day care services on time to nursing home placement in older adults with Alzheimer's disease. , 2005, The Gerontologist.

[8]  S. Newman,et al.  Psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review. , 2001, Aging & mental health.

[9]  Housing Lin.  Dementia - supporting people with dementia and their carers in health & social care , 2006 .

[10]  D. Morgan,et al.  Qualitative Content Analysis: A Guide to Paths not Taken , 1993, Qualitative health research.

[11]  R. Montgomery,et al.  Perceptions of Respite Services as Predictors of Utilization , 1993 .

[12]  R. Toseland,et al.  Use of health and human services by community-residing people with dementia. , 1999, Social work.

[13]  R. Andersen.  Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: does it matter? , 1995, Journal of health and social behavior.

[14]  G. Lamura,et al.  [The experience of family carers of older people in the use of support services in Europe: selected findings from the EUROFAMCARE project]. , 2006, Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie.

[15]  Betty Wehtje Winslow,et al.  Family caregivers' experiences with community services: a qualitative analysis. , 2003, Public health nursing.

[16]  Martin Pinquart,et al.  Helping caregivers of persons with dementia: which interventions work and how large are their effects? , 2006, International Psychogeriatrics.

[17]  Werner Brouwer,et al.  Respite care--an explorative study of demand and use in Dutch informal caregivers. , 2006, Health policy.

[18]  Joy Adamson,et al.  Systematic review of information and support interventions for caregivers of people with dementia , 2007, BMC geriatrics.

[19]  R. Montgomery,et al.  Evaluating a practice-oriented service model to increase the use of respite services among minorities and rural caregivers. , 2003, The Gerontologist.

[20]  J. Georges,et al.  Alzheimer's disease in real life – the dementia carer's survey , 2008, International journal of geriatric psychiatry.

[21]  M. Drummond,et al.  A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different models of community-based respite care for frail older people and their carers. , 2007, Health technology assessment.

[22]  C. Douglass,et al.  Factors influencing the use of adult day care by individuals with Alzheimer's disease: a multivariate examination of the California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Center Program. , 1998, Home health care services quarterly.

[23]  Paul Duberstein,et al.  How effective are interventions with caregivers? An updated meta-analysis. , 2002, The Gerontologist.

[24]  Henry Brodaty,et al.  Why caregivers of people with dementia and memory loss don't use services , 2005, International journal of geriatric psychiatry.

[25]  Community care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and non‐demented elderly people: use and satisfaction with services and unmet needs in family caregivers , 1999, International journal of geriatric psychiatry.

[26]  J. Gaugler,et al.  Early community-based service utilization and its effects on institutionalization in dementia caregiving. , 2005, The Gerontologist.

[27]  P. Topo,et al.  Inappropriate treatment of people with dementia in residential and day care , 2007, Aging & mental health.

[28]  M. Roelands,et al.  Service use in family caregivers of persons with dementia in Belgium: psychological and social factors. , 2007, Health & social care in the community.

[29]  R. Toseland,et al.  Predictors of health and human services use by persons with dementia and their family caregivers. , 2002, Social science & medicine.

[30]  Johannes Kornhuber,et al.  Non-Drug Therapies for Dementia: An Overview of the Current Situation with Regard to Proof of Effectiveness , 2003, Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

[31]  M. Cameron,et al.  Respite care for people with dementia and their carers. , 2004, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.