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Dementia Caregiving: Recent Research on Negative Health Effects and the Efficacy of Caregiver Interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Lynn M. Martire  and
Martica Hall
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Abstract

Provision of care to an older adult with dementia is an important societal resource. This resource may also come at a high cost to informal caregivers, most of whom are family members. In this paper we provide an overview of recent research on dementia caregiving and caregiver interventions. First, we provide background information on the prevalence and costs of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Second, we describe the specific stressors and broader mental and physical health outcomes of dementia caregiving. Third, recent evidence of the efficacy of caregiver interventions for both caregiver and patient outcomes is reviewed. Throughout the paper, we describe promising new directions for future research in this area, including assessment and intervention with family caregivers of older patients with comorbid dementia and depression, and the focus on sleep disturbance as a critical health consequence of dementia caregiving.

Type
Feature Article
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 7 , Issue 11: Late-life Depression and Dementia , November 2002 , pp. 791 - 796
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

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