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Caregivers’ perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments for dementia

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Abstract

Background and aims

To collect opinions, perceptions, and expectations on the therapeutic benefits of drug treatment for dementia and the impact on the care of the patient in a large sample of caregivers. Only few studies deal with this topic in a small number of participants.

Methods

This used an ad-hoc online questionnaire to collect the opinions of caregivers of patients with dementia and assess their expectations and perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments. The questionnaire was accessible for nearly 4 months on the Federazione Alzheimer Italia website and had three sections: (1) information on the patient with dementia; (2) information on the caregiver’s perception of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments; (3) information on caregivers. To evaluate the relationship between the caregiver’s expectations of the therapeutic benefits of dementia treatments and some characteristics of the patients and the caregivers, we used the Chi-square test.

Results

During the access time, 439 questionnaires were filled, and 369 were validated for inclusion in the analysis; of these, 329 also had information on caregivers. The expectations of drug treatment effects were not statistically significantly influenced by any variables considered about the patients or the caregivers. Caregivers’ beliefs about the effectiveness of dementia treatment, their expectations and changes in their lives were clear.

Conclusions

This study addresses a gap in knowledge about caregivers’ experiences and their views of drug treatments, and highlights the need for a pharmaceutical treatment that helps to resolve the symptoms and outcomes of dementia.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful for the support of all caregivers.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Quality Assessment of Geriatric Therapies and Services, IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156, Milan, Italy

    Carlotta Franchi, Codjo Djignefa Djade & Alessandro Nobili

  2. Federazione Alzheimer Italia, Via T. Marino 7, 20121, Milan, Italy

    Francesca Arosio & Gabriella Salvini Porro

Authors
  1. Carlotta Franchi
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  2. Francesca Arosio
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  3. Codjo Djignefa Djade
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  4. Gabriella Salvini Porro
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  5. Alessandro Nobili
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlotta Franchi.

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Franchi, C., Arosio, F., Djade, C.D. et al. Caregivers’ perceptions of the therapeutic benefits of drug treatments for dementia. Aging Clin Exp Res 25, 677–683 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-013-0154-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-013-0154-2

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