title: Caregivers' perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments for dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To collect opinions, perceptions, and expectations on the therapeutic benefits of drug treatment for dementia and the impact on the care of the patient in a large sample of caregivers. Only few studies deal with this topic in a small number of participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  This used an ad-hoc online questionnaire to collect the opinions of caregivers of patients with dementia and assess their expectations and perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments. The questionnaire was accessible for nearly 4 months on the Federazione Alzheimer Italia website and had three sections: (1) information on the patient with dementia; (2) information on the caregiver's perception of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments; (3) information on caregivers. To evaluate the relationship between the caregiver's expectations of the therapeutic benefits of dementia treatments and some characteristics of the patients and the caregivers, we used the Chi-square test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the access time, 439 questionnaires were filled, and 369 were validated for inclusion in the analysis; of these, 329 also had information on caregivers. The expectations of drug treatment effects were not statistically significantly influenced by any variables considered about the patients or the caregivers. Caregivers' beliefs about the effectiveness of dementia treatment, their expectations and changes in their lives were clear.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study addresses a gap in knowledge about caregivers' experiences and their views of drug treatments, and highlights the need for a pharmaceutical treatment that helps to resolve the symptoms and outcomes of dementia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Quality Assessment of Geriatric Therapies and Services, IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156, Milan, Italy, carlotta.franchi@marionegri.it.
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arosio
authors.forename: Codjo Djignefa
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Djade
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salvini Porro
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nobili
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires