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Variables influencing burden in spousal and adult child primary caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease in the home setting

Providence Hospital School of Nursing, Sandusky, Ohio; Sandusky/Firelands Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Support Group, Sandusky, Ohio

Kathy Ann Levy, MSN, RN, C

Lourdes College, Sylvania, Ohio

The purpose of this study was twofold: to compare caregiver burden perceived by spouses and adult children providing care to a family member with Alzheimer's disease in the home, and to determine if functional ability of the Alzheimer's victim affects burden experienced by the caregiver.

Fifty-five primary caregivers providing care at home for a family member with Alzheimer's disease were invited to participate in this study and asked to complete the Caregiver Data Sheet, Burden Interview, Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS), and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL). Thirty caregivers (55 percent) responded.

The mean burden score for all participants was 67 (SD = 15), indicative of severe burden. A t-test performed to compare burden scores of spouse and adult child caregivers showed no significant difference between the two groups (t-value = 1.93, p> .05).

The mean scores for the PSMS (1.4; SD = 1.86) and IADL (1.4; SD = 1.59) indicated that the Alzheimer's victims were very dependent. This functional deficit, however, did not correlate significantly with caregiver burden. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r) was -.339 for the PSMS and Burden Interview and -.203 for the IADL and Burden Interview. Neither were found significant at the .05 level of significance.

This study contributed to nursing knowledge by describing burden experienced by a specific population of primary caregivers; those spouses and adult children providing care for a family member with Alzheimer's disease in the home. A lack of a significant correlation between functional impairment of the Alzheimer's victim and caregiver burden was found. The researcher suggested that perhaps other factors, such as family and community support, had more of an impact on caregiver burden. Future nursing research to further delineate such factors would contribute to the understanding of caregiver burden.

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