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A comparison of family care infrastructure for demented elderly in inner cities and regional areas in Japan

Authors

SHINAGAWA, Shunichiro, YATABE, Yusuke, Hashimoto, Mamoru, NAKAYAMA, Kazuhiko, Ikeda, Manabu

Journal

Psychogeriatrics: The Official Journal Of The Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, Volume: 12, No.: 3, Pages.: 159-164

Year of Publication

2012

Abstract

Background: Family members’ observations of daily life are important for the diagnosis and treatment of dementia. However, elderly people are increasingly living alone, and family structures tend to differ between inner-city areas and regional areas. We aimed to compare the family caregiving infrastructure of demented elderly visiting a memory clinic.; Methods: Subjects were consecutive outpatients with dementia at the memory clinic at a university hospital in two different areas. We compared subjects’ demographic data, residency status, housemates and companion status at the time of their initial visit.; Results: Patients in the inner-city area (n= 99) had more education and higher Mini-Mental State Examination scores than those in the regional area (n= 172). In both areas, the highest proportion of patients lived with their spouse. In the inner city, patients’ housemates were either their spouse (34%) or their child (13%); 22% lived alone. In regional areas, patients lived with their spouse only (39%) or in their child’s household (23%); 14% lived alone. At their initial consultation, inner-city patients were accompanied by a family member other than their spouse (49%), a spouse (27%), or they were alone (7%). In the regional area, patients’ companions were their spouse (35%) or their spouse and other family members (18%); patients rarely arrived alone. Regression analysis showed that education, diagnosis, housemate state (child only), and companion state (alone) significantly influenced the living area.; Conclusion: Our results suggest family caregiving infrastructure of demented elderly differ between the two areas. This may reflect changes in social structure and increased awareness regarding dementia in inner-city areas.; © 2012 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2012 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Bibtex Citation

@article{SHINAGAWA_2012, doi = {10.1111/j.1479-8301.2011.00395.x}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8301.2011.00395.x}, year = 2012, month = {sep}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, volume = {12}, number = {3}, pages = {159--164}, author = {Shunichiro SHINAGAWA and Yusuke YATABE and Mamoru HASHIMOTO and Kazuhiko NAKAYAMA and Manabu IKEDA}, title = {A comparison of family care infrastructure for demented elderly in inner cities and regional areas in Japan}, journal = {Psychogeriatrics} }

Keywords

aged, caregivers, dementia, epidemiology, family, female, humans, japan, male, mapping, of, residence characteristics, statistics & numerical data, structures, suburban population, therapy, urban population

Countries of Study

Japan

Types of Dementia

Dementia (general / unspecified)

Types of Study

Ethnographic study

Settings

Specialist Dementia Centre Care / Memory Clinic

Type of Interventions

Diagnostic Target Identification, Other