Quantitative evaluation of the burden of those giving home care for senile dementia of Alzheimer type subjects using the burnout scale of pines

Abstract

We quantitatively measured the physical and psychological burden of caregivers of 25 patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT). The Barthel Index (BADL, full score: 20 points) and the caregiver burden in terms of physical symptoms correlated well (r = -0.964, p < 0.001), as did the degree of abnormal behavior and caregiver burden in terms of psychological symptoms (r = 0.946, p < 0.001). The correlation with the burnout scale (BOS) of Pines was best when both factors of psychological and physical symptoms were included. The correlation between BOS and the caregiver burden in terms of both physical and psychological symptoms was r = 0.874, p < 0.001, and the correlation between BOS and "the degree of abnormal behavior" +(20- "BADL") was r = 0.853, p < 0.001. The burden in terms of physical symptoms increased as the BADL score decreased, but the burden in terms of psychological symptoms increased initially and decreased in the last phase of the disease. We conclude that the BOS score of SDAT caregivers was stable in the initial phase, then increased rapidly, thereafter preserved high, and dropped rapidly as the BADL score decreased.