Selected determinants of quality of life of caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease

Aim
Alzheimer's disease leads to significant changes in the quality of life of its immediate caregivers. With the progression of dementia and cognitive deficits, many new challenging situations arise that are a source of stress for both the patient and their carers. The study aims to analyze selected determinants of the quality of life of caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Material and methods
The research used: the diagnostic survey method, the estimation method, the questionnaire technique and the estimation scale technique. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and the original questionnaire were used. Anonymous studies have been conducted among 100 caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Results
The domains of quality of life differ significantly depending on the age of the caregivers (in the physical, psychological and environmental spheres).

Conclusions
The assessment of all domains of the quality of life was significantly differentiated by the caregiver's education, his way of living and the degree of kinship with the patient. A higher assessment of the quality of life in terms of the physical and social domains was significantly more often made by caregivers of people in the first stage of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease inevitably leads to a reduced quality of life for the patient and their immediate carers. It is essential to make systematic assessments of the patient's functional capacity to estimate the level of care needs and the burden of such activities on carers.