The effects of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management on caregiverburden

Citation
Jl. Weuve et al., The effects of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management on caregiverburden, GERONTOLOGI, 40(4), 2000, pp. 429-436
Citations number
37
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science
Journal title
GERONTOLOGIST
ISSN journal
00169013 → ACNP
Volume
40
Issue
4
Year of publication
2000
Pages
429 - 436
Database
ISI
SICI code
0016-9013(200008)40:4<429:TEOOGE>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) on informal caregivers' sense of burden. We randomized 568 high-risk, community-dwelling older adults to receive either GEM or usual care for 6 months. At baseline and one year later, we assessed the burden e xperienced by their informal caregivers (N = 88). Compared with caregivers of participants in the usual care group, caregivers of participants in the GEM group were less than half as likely to report increased burden during t he one-year follow-up period (16.7% vs 38.5 %, p = .034). The findings sugg est that GEM helps protect the informal caregivers of high-risk older peopl e from the increases in burden that often accompany advancing age.