Meaning and measurement of caregiver outcomes.
The focus of dementia intervention research has broadened from a focus purely on the person with dementia to include the caregiver as well. Psychological, physical, social and health care utilization costs are well documented and effective caregiver interventions reported. Caregivers are crucial to many aspects of the path of dementia traveled by affected persons. They influence outcome and they are a secondary target in drug trials. Measurement of caregiver outcomes should be targeted to likely outcome, and key mediating variables should be measured too. A list of potential instruments and recommendations is provided.
Brodaty
Henry
H
Academic Department for Old Age Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital, and Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre and School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. h.brodaty@unsw.edu.au
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D020380:Needs Assessment; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires