Long-Term Care No Balm for Caregiver Woes
Aug. 24, 2004 - Giving home care to a loved one with Alzheimer's disease is a hard thing to do. And it's no easier when the patient has to be put in a nursing home.
That's one finding from a study of 1,222 pairs of caregivers and Alzheimer's disease patients by Richard Schulz, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues. During the study, 180 of the patients had to be placed in a long-term care facility. The researchers kept track of their mental and physical health -- and that of their caregivers -- over the next year and a half.
You might think that having a nursing home look after the patient would be a relief to the caregivers. But that's not what happens, Schulz and colleagues report in the Aug. 25 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
"One thought people have is that this should alleviate some of the distress and pressures of caregiving. But that really isn't the case," Schulz tells WebMD. "When the patient enters a nursing home, caregivers continue to be just as distressed as when the patient is at home. They are still incredibly involved in patient care after the person has left the home."
After their loved ones entered long-term care, the researchers found, caregivers weren't any less depressed and anxious than they were when the patient was at home. Depression scores were very high, suggesting that these caregivers are at high risk of major depression. And caregivers actually used moreanxiety-relieving medicines after their loved one entered a facility than they did when the patient was at home.
"You don't see any evidence of relief from depression or anxiety," Schulz says. "And you have caregivers being burdened with new challenges such as traveling to the facility. Monitoring the patient's care becomes a preoccupation that takes time and energy."
This was particularly true for:
More than half of the caregivers visited their loved one every day. During these visits, they continued to help with the patient's physical care.
That's one finding from a study of 1,222 pairs of caregivers and Alzheimer's disease patients by Richard Schulz, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues. During the study, 180 of the patients had to be placed in a long-term care facility. The researchers kept track of their mental and physical health -- and that of their caregivers -- over the next year and a half.
You might think that having a nursing home look after the patient would be a relief to the caregivers. But that's not what happens, Schulz and colleagues report in the Aug. 25 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
"One thought people have is that this should alleviate some of the distress and pressures of caregiving. But that really isn't the case," Schulz tells WebMD. "When the patient enters a nursing home, caregivers continue to be just as distressed as when the patient is at home. They are still incredibly involved in patient care after the person has left the home."
Caregivers Still Depressed, Anxious
After their loved ones entered long-term care, the researchers found, caregivers weren't any less depressed and anxious than they were when the patient was at home. Depression scores were very high, suggesting that these caregivers are at high risk of major depression. And caregivers actually used moreanxiety-relieving medicines after their loved one entered a facility than they did when the patient was at home.
"You don't see any evidence of relief from depression or anxiety," Schulz says. "And you have caregivers being burdened with new challenges such as traveling to the facility. Monitoring the patient's care becomes a preoccupation that takes time and energy."
This was particularly true for:
- Caregivers who were married to the patient
- Caregivers who visited the patient more often
- Caregivers who were less satisfied with the help they got from others
More than half of the caregivers visited their loved one every day. During these visits, they continued to help with the patient's physical care.
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