Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease
Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease Leila Pouttu, 77, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and her husband Donald was devoted to caring for her. “He was always there for her, always,” a friend of the couple commented. “He never left the house other than to ride his bike around and go swimming every morning”. The Pouttus had no local relatives and no children. Both were retired and lived in their house for 29 years (Kornacki, S., 2006d).
The couple died together in their home on a Thursday morning. Firefighters went to the home to put out a blaze and discovered the bodies. Police detectives said that both sustained gunshot wounds from a gun found at the scene. Detectives determined the deaths as murder-suicide (2006d). Alzheimer’s has a major impact on those who help care for an affected individual. Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer are living at home, where family and friends provide most of their care. As the disease progresses, it places physical, emotional and financial stress on caregivers as they assume growing responsibilities that may include meeting physical need, managing daily routines and making important medical and legal decisions (Alzheimer’s Association, 2007).
Vulnerable population
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in a loved one has as enormous effect on the person with the disease, but the progressive nature of the disease also places a tremendous strain on the person’s family, friends and especially the primary caretaker. Depression and high levels of stress are seen commonly in family caregivers of people who have Alzheimer’s (National Institutes of Health, n.d.).
High financial burden, loneliness, physical and emotional burnout – and possibly even death: these are the things that await people who take care of relatives with Alzheimer’s (Page, S., 2006a). Beginning in 1993, researchers examined the records of 518,240 couples between the ages of 65 and 98 on Medicare in the United States. No other diseases, other than
The couple died together in their home on a Thursday morning. Firefighters went to the home to put out a blaze and discovered the bodies. Police detectives said that both sustained gunshot wounds from a gun found at the scene. Detectives determined the deaths as murder-suicide (2006d). Alzheimer’s has a major impact on those who help care for an affected individual. Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer are living at home, where family and friends provide most of their care. As the disease progresses, it places physical, emotional and financial stress on caregivers as they assume growing responsibilities that may include meeting physical need, managing daily routines and making important medical and legal decisions (Alzheimer’s Association, 2007).
Vulnerable population
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in a loved one has as enormous effect on the person with the disease, but the progressive nature of the disease also places a tremendous strain on the person’s family, friends and especially the primary caretaker. Depression and high levels of stress are seen commonly in family caregivers of people who have Alzheimer’s (National Institutes of Health, n.d.).
High financial burden, loneliness, physical and emotional burnout – and possibly even death: these are the things that await people who take care of relatives with Alzheimer’s (Page, S., 2006a). Beginning in 1993, researchers examined the records of 518,240 couples between the ages of 65 and 98 on Medicare in the United States. No other diseases, other than
References: Alzheimer Care Ethical Guidelines (2005). Values and guiding principals. Alzheimer Society. Retrieved June 7, 2007, from www.alzheimer.ca/english/care/ethics-values.htm Alzheimer’s Association (2007) http://www.alz.org/documents/FSADFacts.pdf Alzheimer’s Disease Education & Referral Center (2006c) caregiver’s quality of life. National Institute on Aging. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Caregiving/HomeAndFamily Caregiver Stress (n.d.) http://www.geocities.com/elderly-place/stress.htm Fackelmann, Kathleen (2006b) better able to cope. USA Today. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Proquest. Family Caregiver Support Program (2005). Integrating nursing intervention with social services. Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. Retrieved June 7, 2007, from http://pcaphl.org/programs Home Safety (n.d.) http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_home_safety.asp#1 Kornacki, Steve (2006d) Retrieved June 7, 2007, from Proquest. Lancaster, Jeanette and Stanhope, M Page, Shelley. (2006a). The cost to caregivers. CanWest News. Retrieved June 6, 2007 from Proquest. Respite Care, (n.d.). Alzheimer’s Association. Retrieved June 7, 2007, from www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_respite_care.asp Women’s Health (n.d.). Caregiver: recognizing burnout. WebMD. Retrieved June 8, 2007, from http://women.webmd.com/Women-Medical-Reference/caregiver-recognizing-burnout