Predictors of Discrepancy Between Care Recipients With Mild-to-Moderate Dementia and Their Caregivers on Perceptions of the Care Recipients' Quality of Life.
The goal of this study was to explore predictors of discrepancy between reports of caregivers (CGs) and care recipients (CRs) with mild-to-moderate dementia about CRs' quality of life (QOL).



This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data drawn from a study of 200 care dyads of CRs with mild-to-moderate dementia and their primary family CGs. Paired t test, ordinary least squares multiple regression, and binary logistic regression were used for the analyses.



Caregivers rated CRs' QOL significantly lower (worse) than CRs did. Ordinary least square regression results showed that greater incongruence in perceptions of CRs' decision-making involvement (DMI) and higher level of CR impairment in activities of daily living were significantly related to higher absolute discrepancy between CG and CR about CRs' QOL. In the logistic models, when the dyad had more DMI incongruence, or CG reported higher relationship strain, the CG was more likely to report a lower CR QOL than CR reported.



Practitioners should consider incorporating CRs' perspective when planning care instead of solely depending on CGs' perspective. Also, practitioners should pay attention to any gap between perceptions of CGs and CRs, particularly with regard to CRs' QOL.
Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA heehyul.moon@louisville.edu.
Heehyul
H
Moon
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Aloen L
AL
Townsend
Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Peggye
P
Dilworth-Anderson
Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging/Center for Research and Education, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Carol J
CJ
Whitlatch
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
dementia; discrepancy; mild-to-moderate; quality of life