Quality of life, stress, coping and burden of caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's

Abstract

Introduction  Caring for older people with Alzheimer's disease can generate a state of prolonged stress, especially when the overload is intense, which impacts the caregiver's quality of life.

Objective  To compare the quality of life, perception of stress, and coping strategies depending on the level of overload of caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's.

Methods  Quantitative and cross-sectional study carried out with 126 caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Bref (WHOQOL-Bref), Perceived Stress Scale, Zarit Overload Inventory, and the Problem Coping Scale were used. Data analysis was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, boot-strapping procedures, and one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's posthoc. A significance of p < 0.05 was adopted.

Results  Caregivers with intense burden had worse quality of life (p < 0.001). Caregivers without overload had less stress (p < 0.001) and used a problem-focused coping strategy (p < 0.001).

Conclusion  The level of overload is an intervening factor in the quality of life, stress symptoms, and coping strategies of caregivers of older people with Alzheimer's Disease.

Aging; Home Care Services; Psychological stress; Psychological adaptation