An Evaluative Study of Elderly Patients of Neurocognitive Disorders Carers’ Quality of Life

Abstract

Neurocognitive disorders (Dementia and Alzheimer’s) belong to the category of conditions that commonly cause mental impairment. They are a type of biological brain illness that makes it harder for individuals to retrieve stimuli, believe in themselves, interact with others, and take care of themselves. Families and carers are presented with several challenges while caring for these relatives who suffer from this illness. This eventually makes a huge impact on their own quality of life, as they are required to make several transitions in their lifestyle and routine. Objective: This research was designed to assess the quality of life of carers and its impact on their functioning as a caregiver during the task of caregiving to patients with neurocognitive disorders. Method: A collective sample of 100, wherein 50 males and 50 female caregivers, of elderly patients with neurocognitive disorders (Dementia and Alzheimer’s), were selected, using a purposive sampling method from various cities of Gujarat. Tool:  Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire (AC-QoL; 2010) published by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in association with Nottingham University, was used. The collected data was statistically analyzed employing the Mann – Whitney U test. Results and Conclusion: The findings demonstrated the important distinction between the genders of caregivers, regarding their quality of life (QoL). The difference was indicative from the mean scores of QoL, which were found to be higher among the male caregivers as compared to the female caregivers. The mean scores were high among female caregivers with respect to two dimensions (sense of value and carer satisfaction) with an exception in rest of the six dimensions (support for caring, caring choice, caring stress, money matters, personal growth, and ability to care) where males showing a slight increase in the mean scores with regards to the females. It is conclusive of the study that the overall quality of life does not differ significantly for both the groups; for this reason, chiefly being a carer to an elderly patient with neurocognitive disorder is a very strenuous task. The higher mean scores among males for (support for caring, caring choice, caring stress, money matters, personal growth, and ability to care) reflect that males are more resourceful with respect to the dimensions stated and therefore have a superior quality of life as compared to females. The other two dimensions (sense of value and carer satisfaction) where mean scores of females are higher due to their nurturing nature.