The evaluation of disease burden in individuals who care for alzheimer's patients

Aim: It has been shown that a large majority of Alzheimer's patients live in their houses and are taken care by family members. In our study, it was aimed to determine the burden of disease care in the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients and to reveal the relationship between care burden and socio-demographic characteristics, care characteristics, patient and disease characteristics, and at the same time to raise awareness about the burden of disease care. Materials and Methods: Study universe is made by relatives who give free care and are responsible from primary care of 150 patients with Alzheimer's disease who are followed up by Adana Dr. Ekrem Tok Mental Health and Diseases Hospital's Neurology Policlinics. The data were collected by the Weaning Care Load Scale and Clinical Global Impression Scale, which we made to examine the socio-demographic and caregiving characteristics of the caregiver. Findings: The average age of the 150 caregivers enrolled in this study is 47,8±12,2 years. 78% (n:117) of the caregivers were women and the majority (60,7%) were housewives. 52% (n:78) were the daughter of the patient, 16,7% (n:25) were the son of the patient and 16% (n:24) were the bride of the patients. In 86% (n:129) of caregivers, various degrees of care burden were observed. In 14% (n:21) of these, there were no burden, in 49,3% (n: 74) mild-moderate burden, in 27,3% (N:14) moderate-severe burden and in 9,3% (n:14) severe burden was detected. In our study, it was found that caregivers who thought that they needed training related to care were found to be under a heavier burden than others (p:0,039). Caregivers who deliver their care of their patients to the relatives were found to be under less burden than others (p: 0,034). Conclusion: The high burden of disease care in the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients, the training of caregivers regarding care giving under the leadership of the primary healthcare workers was organized, with sharing responsibility for care giving by making the awareness of healthcare workers and other family members associated with care burden, we think that this will decrease care burden felt by the caregivers and allow patients and caregivers to improve their well-being and quality of life. Key words: Family medicine, Alzheimer's disease, care burden, care giving, awareness.