Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London and Facultad de Medicina, Escuela de Psicología, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2010 Jun;22(4):607-17. doi: 10.1017/S104161021000013X. Epub 2010 Mar 10.
In the U.K. about 141,460 people with dementia (PWD) live alone. They are at risk of social isolation and inadequate social and medical supervision. The aims of this study were to identify the needs of PWD living alone and to compare the needs of PWD living alone versus those living with others. It was predicted that PWD living alone would have significantly more unmet needs than those living with others.
152 PWD were interviewed about their cognitive status and quality of life (QoL); and 128 informal carers were interviewed about the PWD's QoL, social networks, behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD), functional status, and services used. For 24 PWD no carer was available. Carers were also interviewed about their own symptoms of depression, anxiety, burden, and satisfaction. Researchers rated PWD's needs. One-third of the PWD (50) were living alone.
PWD living alone had significantly more unmet needs (M = 3.9, s.d. 3.1) than those living with others (M = 2.0, s.d. 2.0) (U = 1578, p < 0.01) particularly in the areas of looking after home (chi2 = 17.23, p < 0.001), food (chi2 = 13.91, p < 0.002), self-care (chi2 = 10.23, p < 0.002) and accidental self-harm (chi2 = 16.51, p < 0.001). The most frequent unmet needs were daytime activities (27, 54.0%), company (26, 52.0%), psychological distress (22, 44.0%), eyesight/hearing (16, 32.0%), and accidental self-harm (16, 32.0%).
PWD living alone are a vulnerable group who are at increased risk for unmet social, environmental, psychological and medical needs. This study illustrates the need to identify these individuals and to make provisions among social service agencies to monitor their well-being regularly and provide a higher level of support when needs are identified.
在英国，约有 141460 名痴呆症患者（PWD）独居。他们面临社交孤立和社会及医疗监督不足的风险。本研究旨在确定独居的 PWD 的需求，并比较独居与非独居 PWD 的需求。研究预测，独居的 PWD 的未满足需求将显著多于非独居者。
对 152 名 PWD 进行了认知状态和生活质量（QoL）访谈；对 128 名非专业照顾者进行了 PWD 的 QoL、社交网络、行为和心理症状（BPSD）、功能状态和服务使用情况访谈。对于 24 名没有照顾者的 PWD，研究者对其进行了访谈。照顾者还接受了有关自身抑郁、焦虑、负担和满意度的访谈。研究者评估了 PWD 的需求。三分之一的 PWD（50 人）独居。
独居的 PWD 未满足的需求明显更多（M=3.9，标准差 3.1），而非独居的 PWD 未满足的需求较少（M=2.0，标准差 2.0）（U=1578，p<0.01），特别是在照顾家庭（chi2=17.23，p<0.001）、食物（chi2=13.91，p<0.002）、自理（chi2=10.23，p<0.002）和意外伤害自伤（chi2=16.51，p<0.001）方面。最常见的未满足需求是日间活动（27 人，占 54.0%）、陪伴（26 人，占 52.0%）、心理困扰（22 人，占 44.0%）、视力/听力（16 人，占 32.0%）和意外伤害自伤（16 人，占 32.0%）。
独居的 PWD 是一个弱势群体，他们面临着更多的社会、环境、心理和医疗需求未得到满足的风险。本研究表明，有必要识别这些个体，并在社会服务机构中做出规定，定期监测他们的幸福感，并在需要时提供更高水平的支持。
