Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Dementia (London). 2021 Aug;20(6):2205-2230. doi: 10.1177/1471301220980243. Epub 2020 Dec 29.
Much of the research exploring the experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia has focussed on spouses and adult children. It is hypothesised that other family members at different life stages and with different family roles may experience and perceive the caregiving role differently. The objective of the current review was to explore the experiences of grandchildren who provide care to a grandparent with dementia. A systematic search of four databases identified 12 studies which met the inclusion criteria. An assessment of quality was completed for each of the included studies. Grandchildren described dementia-related changes, changes to their role and relationship with their grandparent, multiple impacts of caregiving, influences of other family relationships on caregiving and positive aspects of caregiving. Many of the included studies met most of the quality criteria for the respective methodological design; however, there was some variation in quality and sample across included studies. The review indicates that assessments and interventions to incorporate grandchildren and the wider family system may help to support family carers to continue to provide care for grandparents with dementia. The research and clinical implications and limitations of the review are also considered.
大多数探索痴呆症患者家庭成员照顾者经历的研究都集中在配偶和成年子女上。据推测，处于不同生命阶段和具有不同家庭角色的其他家庭成员可能会以不同的方式体验和感知照顾角色。本综述的目的是探讨照顾患有痴呆症的祖辈的孙辈的经历。通过对四个数据库进行系统搜索，确定了符合纳入标准的 12 项研究。对纳入的每项研究都进行了质量评估。孙辈描述了与痴呆症相关的变化、他们与祖辈的角色和关系的变化、照顾的多重影响、其他家庭关系对照顾的影响以及照顾的积极方面。许多纳入的研究符合各自方法设计的大多数质量标准；然而，纳入的研究在质量和样本方面存在一些差异。该综述表明，评估和干预措施纳入孙辈和更广泛的家庭系统可能有助于支持家庭照顾者继续为患有痴呆症的祖父母提供照顾。还考虑了该综述的研究和临床意义及局限性。
