Determination of psychosocial care needs of caregivers of individuals with dementia diagnosis

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the psychosocial care needs of caregivers of individuals diagnosed with dementia and benefiting from home care services. Method: In this research, the case study method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study was carried out with the Holistic Multi-State pattern. The sample of the study was carried out by criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, and Burdur State Hospital consisted of 15 caregivers who provide care to individuals diagnosed with dementia who receive Home Health Services. The analysis of the research data was carried out using the MAXQDA 2020 program. Results: The difficulties encountered by caregivers in the research (impact of daily life, insufficient support systems, life change, progression of diseases, negative impact of mental health, lack of any dementia education and economic difficulties), achievements of the caregiver (establishing a positive relationship with the patient, gaining experience of caring, feeling good about caring, not experiencing any changes in daily life, knowledge about dementia), support received by caregivers (receiving social support, receiving psychological support, receiving financial support, four main themes and a total of nineteen sub-themes were obtained, namely, the requirements of health care providers (social support requirement, moral support requirement, information acquisition requirement) and the requirements of caregivers (social support requirement, moral support requirement, information acquisition requirement). Conclusion: It has been revealed that the caregivers of individuals diagnosed with dementia who benefit from home care services have various difficulties in the care process and they need psychosocial care in the face of these difficulties. These requirements are; social support, psychological support, financial support, moral support and information support. In this context, it is recommended to plan intervention studies for the psychosocial care needs of caregivers of individuals diagnosed with dementia.Key words: caregiver, dementia, psychiatric nursing, psychosocial care, qualitative research