Caregiver burden among dementia patient caregivers: A review of the literature

PURPOSE: To identify current evidence of factors influencing dementia-related caregiver burden (CB), describe patient and caregiver characteristics associated with CB, and describe evidence-based interventions designed to lessen the burden of caregiving. DATA SOURCES: Comprehensive literature review of Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, and Psych Info was performed for the years 1996-2006 of peer-reviewed journals using keywords CB and dementia. CONCLUSION: Dementia caregiving has been associated with negative effects on caregiver health and early nursing home placement for dementia patients. Many factors influence the impact of the caregiving experience such as gender,…