Information Needs of Family Caregivers of People with Dementia and Alzheimer's diseases in Saudi Arabia 2022

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with insidious onset and progressive declines. It is characteristic of such symptoms of general dementia as memory impairment, aphasia, apraxia, agnostic, impaired visuospatial skills, executive dysfunction, and personality and behavior changes. There are high numbers of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease now in Saudi Arabia. According to epidemiological data, the number is expected to surpass million by 2050 . Patients with AD need long-term home caring which is not only costly but also renders heavy physical, financial and psychological burdens on the caregivers’ shoulders. Their information needs have direct influence on the quality of home caring for the AD patients. High-quality nursing care can halt disease progression and reduce complications.  Alzheimer's diseases dementia accounts for 60–70% of cases followed by vascular and mixed dementia. Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are at increased risk owing to aging populations and high prevalence of vascular risk factors. Appropriate levels of knowledge and awareness amongst health care professionals (HCPs) are the need of the hour. Aim of the study: To investigate the current status of information needs of Family Caregivers of People with Dementia and Alzheimer's diseases in Saudi Arabia 2022. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at200 family caregivers of patients diagnosed as Alzheimer's diseases and dementia in a third-class hospital in in Saudi Arabia, from April to May 2022, were selected for this study of convenient sampling. These patients were followed up at home after discharge from the hospital, and their main family caregivers were investigated by knowledge questionnaire. Results: shows that most of the participants (79.0%) were in the age group (>50) years, regarding self-care ability the majority of participant needing help occasionally were(33.0%), regarding state of occupation work the majority of participant are freelancer  were(46.0%), regarding  the marital status most of participants not married were(69.0%). Conclusion: The scores of home caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's diseases remain low in knowledge, attitude and practice, so it is necessary to strengthen the health education and care guidance for these caregivers. In this way, the caregivers can obtain more social support to improve their ability to care for patients to investigate the current status.