TY - JOUR
T1 - Which level of care is preferred for end-stage dementia? Survey of Taiwanese caregivers
AU - Chen, Wei Ta
AU - Wang, Shuu Jiun
AU - Lu, Shiang Ru
AU - Fuh, Jong Ling
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - In Western countries, most family caregivers view some degree of palliative care as appropriate for severely demented care recipients. In Asian countries, caregivers' attitudes toward such an important issue have not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, we surveyed Taiwanese caregivers' attitudes toward the terminal care of demented care recipients by questionnaire. In 115 (48 men, 67 women; mean age 73.7 ± 9.5 years) caregivers who completed the questionnaire, most caregivers (61%) preferred highly aggressive care, whereas only 3% preferred solely palliative care at the end of the demented care recipients' life. Caregivers having a lower education level (≤ 12 vs > 12 years) or having care recipients of a younger age (≤75 vs >75 years) exhibited a higher preference for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (P = .020 and P = .010, respectively). Sixteen percent of caregivers accepted postmortem autopsy for their care recipients. Twenty-eight percent of caregivers of home-resident recipients anticipated institutionalization, especially those with care recipients having moderate to severe stages of dementia. Co-surrogate caregivers, including the spouse and the offspring, were the most common proxies (39%) for care recipients with end-stage dementia. By comparison with Western countries, the low acceptance rate of CPR refusal and nursing home placement by our caregivers might result from cultural differences.
AB - In Western countries, most family caregivers view some degree of palliative care as appropriate for severely demented care recipients. In Asian countries, caregivers' attitudes toward such an important issue have not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, we surveyed Taiwanese caregivers' attitudes toward the terminal care of demented care recipients by questionnaire. In 115 (48 men, 67 women; mean age 73.7 ± 9.5 years) caregivers who completed the questionnaire, most caregivers (61%) preferred highly aggressive care, whereas only 3% preferred solely palliative care at the end of the demented care recipients' life. Caregivers having a lower education level (≤ 12 vs > 12 years) or having care recipients of a younger age (≤75 vs >75 years) exhibited a higher preference for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (P = .020 and P = .010, respectively). Sixteen percent of caregivers accepted postmortem autopsy for their care recipients. Twenty-eight percent of caregivers of home-resident recipients anticipated institutionalization, especially those with care recipients having moderate to severe stages of dementia. Co-surrogate caregivers, including the spouse and the offspring, were the most common proxies (39%) for care recipients with end-stage dementia. By comparison with Western countries, the low acceptance rate of CPR refusal and nursing home placement by our caregivers might result from cultural differences.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036128067&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/089198870201500104
DO - 10.1177/089198870201500104
M3 - Article
C2 - 11936238
AN - SCOPUS:0036128067
SN - 0891-9887
VL - 15
SP - 16
EP - 19
JO - Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
JF - Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
IS - 1
ER -