J Korean Geriatr Psychiatry.  2015 Apr;19(1):1-9. 10.0000/jkgp.2015.19.1.1.

Characteristics of Patients with Dementia and the Demands of Caregivers: Inpatients of Public Long-term Care Hospital versus Outpatients of General Hospitals

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. shryu@kuh.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4Department of Psychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics of patients with dementia using long-term care hospitals and the demands of their caregivers. It will provide a perspective for establishing the specialized dementia hospital and appropriate dementia services in the future.
METHODS
The survey was performed to the caregivers of the dementia inpatients of 71 public long-term care hospitals and outpatients from local hospitals. We distributed the questionnaires to 3,600 caregivers. Of these, 1,572 returned and then included in the analysis.
RESULTS
High number of both inpatients (85.7%) and outpatients (61.5%) were diagnosed with dementia in psychiatric or neurologic department. Time laps from onset of symptoms thought as dementia to actual diagnosis was about a year. Caregivers of dementia inpatients wanted mostly dementia related welfare and care products (85.5%), physical and exercise program (84.0%), specialized dementia ward (83.1%), behavioral management (82.1%), and cognitive rehabilitation (80.5%).
CONCLUSION
It is important to provide adequate management to both the patients with dementia and the caregivers. Thus, specialized institutional arrangements and medical service improvement supported by government is needed to reduce the psychological and financial burden of caregivers. We hope these results will be used to establish the principals and standards of specialized dementia hospital.

Keyword

Dementia; Caregiver demands; Diagnostic pathway; Specialized dementia hospital

MeSH Terms

Caregivers*
Dementia*
Diagnosis
Hope
Hospitals, General*
Humans
Inpatients*
Long-Term Care*
Outpatients*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Rehabilitation
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