Department of Psychology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Dementia (London). 2021 Feb;20(2):633-652. doi: 10.1177/1471301220909281. Epub 2020 Mar 5.
The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of male caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, by ascertaining the availability and utilization of Alzheimer's disease-related resources in low-income communities in the Western Cape. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 adult males who were familial caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. They were recruited via purposeful sampling methods. Thematic analysis of the data generated four major themes, namely . Predominant findings were that male caregivers in lower income communities do not make use of formal Alzheimer's disease-related services - albeit being aware of them - because they do not perceive a need for its utilization. Instead, male caregivers prefer assistance in the form of respite care in the home environment to relieve and assist them with household needs. The role of culture may have a substantial influence on these patterns of help-seeking behavior due to the emphasis on a collective approach to caregiving using wider, informal social networks. Needs that were identified by the male caregivers in this study included the general awareness of Alzheimer's disease, access to information regarding service provision, psychoeducation and affordable services within improved care facilities for low-income communities. The findings of this study suggest a starting point for the needs that should be prioritized to facilitate culturally appropriate service use amongst male caregivers in similar settings.
本研究旨在探索男性阿尔茨海默病照护者的需求，通过确定西开普省低收入社区中与阿尔茨海默病相关的资源的可用性和利用率。对 11 名成年男性进行了半结构化访谈，他们是阿尔茨海默病患者的家庭照护者。通过有针对性的抽样方法招募了他们。对生成的数据进行主题分析，得出了四个主要主题，即：主要发现是，低收入社区的男性照护者尽管意识到这些服务的存在，但并不利用正规的阿尔茨海默病相关服务，因为他们认为没有必要利用这些服务。相反，男性照护者更喜欢在家庭环境中获得临时护理援助，以减轻和帮助他们满足家庭需求。由于强调使用更广泛的非正式社交网络来集体照顾，文化的作用可能会对这些寻求帮助的行为模式产生重大影响。本研究中的男性照护者确定的需求包括对阿尔茨海默病的普遍认识、获取有关服务提供信息、心理教育以及在为低收入社区改善的护理设施中提供负担得起的服务。这项研究的结果为需要优先考虑的事项提供了一个起点，以促进在类似环境中使用文化上合适的服务。
