Caring for the Caregivers: A Review

Background: Caregiving of a person with Alzheimer’s disease can be a stressful for the caregivers at many levels. Management of Alzheimer’s disease is mainly driven by the needs of the persons with the disorder which are carried out by the caregivers. Most often, the needs of caregivers become a secondary concern leading to significant burden on them. Hence, it is pertinent to incorporate their emotional wellbeing when designing psychosocial interventions in the management of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Objectives: To review relevant literature: 1) to understand the impact of caregiving of a person with Alzheimer’s disease on their caregivers and, 2) to study the different psychosocial interventions for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: The databases searched for the current review are PubMed and Google Scholar. Twenty-five articles were reviewed. Result: Caregivers face significant level of distress and burden during the process of caregiving. The level of anxiety and depression is found to be directly correlated with burden among the caregivers. Inability to cope with the situations affects caregiving. Psychosocial interventions like psychoeducation, coping strategies, supportive therapy, relaxation therapy are found to be beneficial. Home based, tailor made intervention is more effective than a clinical based intervention. Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions for the management of persons with Alzheimer’s disease should incorporate the psychosocial issues and needs of caregivers. Their stress should be addressed for effective management of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and better caregiving experience.