Caregivers and Their Support

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are tragic, debilitating, chronic illnesses with an unpredictable clinical course. The tragedy is compounded by the consequences associated with caregiving, such as impaired mental and physical health, and disruption of normal activities and social relationships of the caregiver. Cognitively impaired elders are often placed in long-term care facilities when family caregivers are either no longer available or are unable to continue home caregiving because of inability to manage behavioral problems, unremitting stress, or caregiver illness. This chapter highlights the importance of the caregiver role, as well as costs to and support for family caregivers in the community and throughout the process of relocating the recipient to an institutional setting. Research on caregiver stress, and the positive and negative effects of caregiving is reviewed, with attention to both psychosocial (e.g. depression, anxiety) and physiological (e.g. immune response, illness-related symptoms) outcomes, as well as variables that may moderate stressors (e.g. social support) inherent in the caregiving role.