A Study on the Evaluation of Relationship between the Predisposing Factors and Practice and Demographic Variables in Caregivers of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is known to be a serious burden in all communities throughout the world. It affects both interpersonal and social relations. Since the disease has usually a long and progressive course, the need for caregivers is increasing. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between the predisposing factors and practice and demographic variables in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

In this descriptive, cross-sectional and analytical study, the data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by experts and its reliability was checked via Cronbach's alpha. Predisposing factors were studied with 30 questions on knowledge, 14 on attitude and 15 on practice. The relationship between independent variables and predisposing factors were examined using multiple regressions test.

92 percent of all caregivers were females between the 41-60 years of age. Most of them did not complete their secondary school trainings, were married and were already house wives. The caregivers’ knowledge was rated as good while their attitude and practice were assessed as moderate. The difference between mean scores for caregiver's knowledge and their education level were shown to be significant (P = 0.009). There were significant differences between the mean caregiver's attitude scores and their sex (P < 0.001), age (P = 0.001), level of education (P = 0.001), marital status (P = 0.006) and duration of caregiving (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference between the mean caregiver's practice scores and variables (P > 0.050). The caregiver's knowledge scores showed a correlation with their practice scores.

Since the majority of caregivers were shown to be women who were not usually skilled workers, social support especially in terms of physical and mental health for such women, and also for the patients’ family members are of high priority.