SUPPORT NEEDS OF ELDERLY CAREGIVERS OF PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA

The aim of this paper was (1) to document the extent to which elderly caregivers of persons with dementia engage in self-help/mutual aid act ivities such as groups and telephone support and (2) to document the e xtent to which non-users want to participate in this form of support. Caregivers aged 60 years of age and older were recruited from the Alzh eimer's Society of Metropolitan Toronto Wandering Persons Registry. Da ta from telephone interviews (n = 84) from this multicultural sample s howed that 21 per cent of subjects used support groups and 26 per cent of non attenders wanted to be part of a support group. Only 8 per cen t of subjects utilized telephone support services yet 57 per cent of n on-users wanted to use this service. We also report on other means of support such as use of computer networks and newsletters. The implicat ions of this research for seniors will be discussed in light of these identified needs and barriers to participation.