Older adults' awareness of community health and support services for dementia care.
ABSTRACTThe article examines where older adults seek help in caring for a parent with dementia and the factors associated with their identification of community health and support services as sources of assistance. The authors conducted telephone interviews, using random digit dialing, of 1,152 adults aged 50 and over in the city of Hamilton. Respondents received a vignette that raised issues related to parental dementia. In identifying support sources, over 37 per cent of respondents identified their physician, 33 per cent identified informal support such as family and neighbors, and 31 per cent identified home health services. Only 18 per cent identified community support services. Female participants having higher levels of education were more likely to identify their physician as a source of support. Knowing where to find information about community support services was associated with an increased likelihood of mentioning physicians and home health services as sources of assistance.
Ploeg
Jenny
J
School of Nursing, McMaster University, Canada. ploegj@mcmaster.ca
Denton
Margaret
M
Tindale
Joseph
J
Hutchison
Brian
B
Brazil
Kevin
K
Akhtar-Danesh
Noori
N
Lillie
Jean
J
Plenderleith
Jennifer Millen
JM
D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D017028:Caregivers; D003153:Community Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D010820:Physicians; D012944:Social Support