Caregiver time use in ALS.
The authors evaluated the caregiver time for 70 patients with ALS. The mean number of caregivers per patient was 2.0 (SD 1.3). Caregiver time increased with worsening of disability (p = 0.0001). The most time-consuming duties were housekeeping, feeding, and toileting. With worsening of patients' disability, families relied increasingly on paid caregivers. Caregiver time is a hidden cost of ALS care and is a major burden for caregivers.
Chiò
A
A
Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Torino, Italy. achio@usa.net
Gauthier
A
A
Vignola
A
A
Calvo
A
A
Ghiglione
P
P
Cavallo
E
E
Terreni
A A
AA
Mutani
R
R
D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000600:supply & distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors