Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The informal caregiver’s contribution to the wellbeing of dementia patients is critical since these individuals become dependent on others for all daily activities. Our goal was to investigate the dynamics of anxiety, depression, burnout, sleep, and thei...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/8/1486 |
| _version_ | 1827729298726846464 |
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| author | Ana Claudia Damian Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu Cristina Anghele Constantin Alexandru Ciobanu Cristian Petrescu Sorin Riga Vlad Dionisie Adela Magdalena Ciobanu |
| author_facet | Ana Claudia Damian Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu Cristina Anghele Constantin Alexandru Ciobanu Cristian Petrescu Sorin Riga Vlad Dionisie Adela Magdalena Ciobanu |
| author_sort | Ana Claudia Damian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: The informal caregiver’s contribution to the wellbeing of dementia patients is critical since these individuals become dependent on others for all daily activities. Our goal was to investigate the dynamics of anxiety, depression, burnout, sleep, and their influence on quality of life over a 6-month period in the context of pandemic distress in a sample of informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: For this prospective, longitudinal study, we conducted a 6-month telephonic survey between 2021 and 2022, administering a series of questionnaires at three timepoints (baseline, 3 months and 6 months) to a group of informal caregivers of patients suffering from dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. <i>Results</i>: A total of 110 caregivers were included at baseline, out of which 96 continued to the second stage and 78 followed through to the last stage. The majority of the participants were female (most likely the patients’ daughters), around 55 years old, living in urban areas, married, with children, having a high school degree or a higher education degree, and working in jobs that required physical presence; in the best-case scenario, they were sharing their responsibilities with another two–three caregivers. More than half of the 110 participants (50.9%) reported mild to moderate anxiety at baseline, and 27.3% reported significant anxiety, with no changes between the three timepoints, F(2, 154) = 0.551, <i>p</i> = 0.57; 25% reported moderate–severe depression at the start, with no changes between the three timepoints, F(2, 154) = 2.738, <i>p</i> = 0.068; and many reported a decrease in quality of life, poor quality of sleep, and decreased fear of COVID infection. Cynicism, professional effectiveness, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality explained up to 87.8% of the variance in quality of life. <i>Conclusions</i>: Caregivers’ decreased quality of life during the pandemic was explained by their levels of burnout, anxiety, and depression throughout the 6-month period. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:45:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd1410e1c5454cd4882688a681d79928 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:45:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd1410e1c5454cd4882688a681d799282023-11-19T02:07:05ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442023-08-01598148610.3390/medicina59081486Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 PandemicAna Claudia Damian0Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu1Cristina Anghele2Constantin Alexandru Ciobanu3Cristian Petrescu4Sorin Riga5Vlad Dionisie6Adela Magdalena Ciobanu7Neuroscience Department, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Psychiatry, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Psychiatry, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, “Titu Maiorescu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 040441 Bucharest, RomaniaNeuroscience Department, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Stress Research and Prophylaxis, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Psychiatry, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia’ Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry, 041914 Bucharest, RomaniaNeuroscience Department, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The informal caregiver’s contribution to the wellbeing of dementia patients is critical since these individuals become dependent on others for all daily activities. Our goal was to investigate the dynamics of anxiety, depression, burnout, sleep, and their influence on quality of life over a 6-month period in the context of pandemic distress in a sample of informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: For this prospective, longitudinal study, we conducted a 6-month telephonic survey between 2021 and 2022, administering a series of questionnaires at three timepoints (baseline, 3 months and 6 months) to a group of informal caregivers of patients suffering from dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. <i>Results</i>: A total of 110 caregivers were included at baseline, out of which 96 continued to the second stage and 78 followed through to the last stage. The majority of the participants were female (most likely the patients’ daughters), around 55 years old, living in urban areas, married, with children, having a high school degree or a higher education degree, and working in jobs that required physical presence; in the best-case scenario, they were sharing their responsibilities with another two–three caregivers. More than half of the 110 participants (50.9%) reported mild to moderate anxiety at baseline, and 27.3% reported significant anxiety, with no changes between the three timepoints, F(2, 154) = 0.551, <i>p</i> = 0.57; 25% reported moderate–severe depression at the start, with no changes between the three timepoints, F(2, 154) = 2.738, <i>p</i> = 0.068; and many reported a decrease in quality of life, poor quality of sleep, and decreased fear of COVID infection. Cynicism, professional effectiveness, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality explained up to 87.8% of the variance in quality of life. <i>Conclusions</i>: Caregivers’ decreased quality of life during the pandemic was explained by their levels of burnout, anxiety, and depression throughout the 6-month period.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/8/1486informal caregiverburnoutanxietydepressionlife quality |
| spellingShingle | Ana Claudia Damian Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu Cristina Anghele Constantin Alexandru Ciobanu Cristian Petrescu Sorin Riga Vlad Dionisie Adela Magdalena Ciobanu Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic Medicina informal caregiver burnout anxiety depression life quality |
| title | Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Quality of Life Predictors in a Group of Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | quality of life predictors in a group of informal caregivers during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | informal caregiver burnout anxiety depression life quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/8/1486 |
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