Burden & Coping in Caregivers of Persons with Dementia

Background : Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Dementia is often associated with physical, mental and financial burden. Care giving is associated with more psychological complaints & coping is most often conceptualized as a response to the demands of specific stressful situations. Aim : To assess the burden in caregiver of persons with dementia and also assess the coping strategies used by the caregivers.Settings and Design : The study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh. The subjects for the study were recruited from the outpatient & indoor facilities of the department of Psychiatry, Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh. After application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, (n=40) cases of Dementia and their caregivers (n=40) were included in the study. Materials & Methods: Diagnosis of dementia was done by fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IVTR).The tools used were Burden Assessment Schedule by Thara et al15, Assamese version of ways of Coping Questionnaire by Susan Folkman and Richard S. Lazarus 16-17. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS-20. Results: The results revealed that level of burden reported by caregivers of dementia patients was high. The most common coping strategies used by caregivers of Dementia patients were confronting coping (72%), distancing(45%), seeking social support(45%) and self-controlling (45%). Conclusion:The various findings in our study evidence that dementia can have serious consequences on families particularly the primary caregivers. Results highlight the importance of improving the mixed coping skills in burdened caregivers.