CARERS KNOWLEDGE OF DEMENTIA AND THEIR EXPRESSED CONCERNS

Objective. The authors wished to determine how much carers from differ ent settings caring for patients with dementia knew about the disorder and elicit their main concerns about the disease. Design. A survey qu estionnaire was administered to 136 carers. Setting. Two old age psych iatric services and an Alzheimer's support group in urban areas of the UK. Participants. The carers came from one of three categories: (1) c arers with no prior contact with elderly mental health services (preas sessment group); (2) carers who had been in contact with mental health care professionals (postassessment group); (3) carers in contact with an Alzheimer's Disease Society support group. Measures. A questionnai re on the subject of dementia. Carers' worries about the disorder were also recorded. Results. Carers in contact with an Alzheimer's support group were the most knowledgeable and carers in the preassessment gro up were the least knowledgeable on the subject of dementia. While care rs in the postassessment group had a level of knowledge above that of the preassessment group, this difference failed to reach statistical s ignificance. Conclusion. The study highlights the need for elderly men tal health teams to evaluate their methods of dissemination of knowled ge to carers, develop educational packages for carers and evaluate the ir effectiveness. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.