Perceptions of Treatment Burden Among Caregivers of Elders With Diabetes and Co-morbid Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A Qualitative Study

Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Halia Melnyk, Rosie Ferris, Alejandra Leon, Mauricio Arcila-Mesa, Crystalinda Rapozo, Joshua Chodosh and Caroline S. Blaum

Clinical Nursing Research, 2023, vol. 32, issue 4, 752-758

Abstract: Many older adults with diabetes (DM) have co-occurring Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD). Complex treatment plans may impose treatment burden for caregivers responsible for day-to-day self-management. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe caregiver perceptions of treatment burden for people with DM-AD/ADRD. Caregivers ( n  = 33) of patients with DM-AD/ADRD participated in semi-structured interviews about their caregiver role and perceptions of treatment burden of DM-AD/ADRD management. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis (ATLAS.ti). Caregivers reported high levels of burden related to complex treatment/self-management for patients with DM-AD/ADRD that varied day-to-day with the patient’s cognitive status. Four themes were: (1) trajectory of treatment burden; (2) navigating multiple healthcare providers/systems of care; (3) caregiver role conflict; and (4) emotional burden. Interventions to reduce caregiver treatment burden should include activating supportive services, education, and care coordination especially, if patient treatment increases in complexity over time.

Keywords: dementia; diabetes; caregiving; aging; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:clnure:v:32:y:2023:i:4:p:752-758

DOI: 10.1177/10547738211067880

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