DEMENTIA: A GRADUAL DEATH

EMPOWERMENT AND SUPPORT TO AFFECTED FAMILIES

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends & family for support they provided & their belief in me as well as guidance they provided without which I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

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ABSTRACT

This research described the impact of family care giving upon caregivers of clients with dementia, and identified the effects of perceived social support, care giving subjective burden, care giving satisfaction, and coping on the relationship between care giving stressors and caregiver outcomes in terms of physical and psychological health. The findings of the study enrich understanding of the effects of stress and coping among family caregivers of clients with dementia, and add new knowledge of the effects of the positive aspects of care giving and a culture value, on the care givers physical and psychological health. Moreover, the study could be the first step in developing effective nursing intervention programs for helping family caregivers of clients with dementia cope with the care giving situation smoothly and successfully.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Caregivers of Clients with Dementia2

Caregiver's Beliefs about Care Giving5

Emotional Costs of Care giving6

Purpose of the Study7

Research Questions8

Rational of the Study8

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Caregivers9

Caregiver Burden10

Cognitive Function13

Functional Capacity14

Behavioural Problems14

Family Care giving of Dementia Patients16

Caregiver Outcomes17

Psychological Health17

Physical Health18

Social Functioning Health18

Care giving Appraisal19

Coping23

Contextual Factors26

Culture and Dementia27

Perceived Social Support28

Empowerment and support to affected families31

Principles of Care for People with Dementia32

Improve the Quality Of Life of People with Dementia by Rehabilitation33

Challenges Associated With Treating People with Dementia34

Managing Behavioural Symptoms in Therapeutic Context34

Effective Communication34

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY36

Search Technique36

Inclusion and exclusion criteria37

Assessment of validity and Reliability38

Overview of findings39

Ethical Consideration39

Time Scale41

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION42

Mediating Factors45

Relationships between the caregiver and the care receiver45

Informal Supports46

Resourcefulness47

Caregiver Characteristics50

Self Care51

Care Receiver Characteristics52

Issues of Placement52

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION55

REFERENCES64

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Improvements in medical care over the past 50 years have extended the average person's life expectancy, dramatically increasing the number of people living over the age of 65 (Tester, 1996). As people live longer, the demographic configuration of the nation's population is also changing. For the first time in our history, the nation's fastest-growing age group is people over the age of 85. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of living longer is the increased likelihood of developing a chronic illness. One illness whose major risk factor is advancing age is dementia.

Dementia is a progressive loss of cognitive function which can be due to a variety of physiological causes. The two most common types of dementia are Ischemic Vascular Dementia (IVD) and Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT). IVD is a heterogeneous disorder, arising from different types of cerebral lesions in varying locations. The diagnostic criteria of IVD are ...