Caring for people with dementia in rural Uganda
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Global Health Reports
Abstract
Back Background ground
The rising incidence of Alzheimer’s disease among older-age adults worldwide has been
accompanied by an increase in caregiving burden. Limited work has examined the lived
experiences of both formal and informal caregivers of people living with dementia in
low-income countries.
Methods
We conducted one-on-one, in-depth qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of 10
informal caregivers and 5 formal caregivers of people living with dementia in Mbarara,
Uganda. They were interviewed about their experiences caring for people with dementia
until thematic saturation was reached. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed
into English, and thematically analysed.
RResults esults
Two primary themes emerged from the data: patient factors influencing caregiving
burden (problematic behaviours, such as wandering and aggression) and patient physical
health and cognitive deterioration (namely, loss of memory and incontinence).
Psychosocial and economic aspects of caregiving burden included financial costs, family
conflicts, anxiety, stigma, and substance misuse.
CConclusions onclusions
Both formal and informal caregivers of people living with dementia experience physical,
financial, and psychological stressors. Interventions aimed at reducing these stressors
would benefit caregivers as well as improve quality of care for people living with
dementia.
Description
Keywords
uganda,, sub-saharan africa, caregiving burden, alzheimer's disease, dementia