ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF DEMENTIA CARE AND SUPPORT PROGRAM IN BOTH PATIENT AND CAREGIVER OUTCOMES: AN INTERVENTION STUDY

Introduction: Dementia is one of the priority issues among the public health concerns. This study aims to assess the impact of the Dementia Care and Support Program in caregivers and patients with dementia. Materials and Methods: This study is an intervention study. Dementia Care and Support Program was a planned 16-week program. Sixty-one patient-caregiver pairs were randomized into two groups, the intervention (n=31) and control groups (n=30). Dementia Care and Support Program was applied to the intervention group, but the control group received routine hospital care. Data were collected between July and November 2016 from a dementia outpatient clinic. While data for patients were collected using the quality-of-life assessment in Alzheimer's disease and Neuropsychiatric Inventory, data for caregivers were collected using the quality of life SF-36, Beck Depression, Beck Anxiety, and Zarit Caregiver Burden Care Inventory. Results: Fifty-four patient-caregiver pairs completed the study. The mean age of the patients was 76.7 +/- 11.2 (46-96) years old. There was no statistically significant difference in the quality-of-life scores and neuropsychiatric symptom scores between the patient groups (p>0.05). The mean age of caregivers was 53.6 +/- 14.8 (22-81) years old. Statistically significant differences were found in NPI-D, quality-of-life mental health, quality-of-life physical health, depression, and anxiety scores between the caregiver groups (p<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in burden scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study established that Dementia Care and Support Program has positive effects on caregivers.