Qualidade de vida de quem cuida de portadores de demência com corpos de Lewy

Abstract

Introduction: Taking Taking care of people with dementia may have an impact on the quality of life for family members. Objective: To verify the quality of life for family members who take care of people with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Method: A cross-sectional study with 90 relatives of patients with DLB treated in a University hospital in Goiânia/GO (Brazil), who responded to the instrument of evaluation for the quality of life WHOQOL-BREF. Results: From the people who were interviewed, 53.3% were male, most married and high school graduated, average age of 47.4 ± 13.8 years and average time as a care taker 13.9 ± 9.3 months. The Environment Domain got the highest average (26.92 ± 5.88), the Psychological (19,66 ± 4,32) and the Social Relationship (9.84 ± 2.18) the lowest. The average for the domains was influenced by genus and by the time that the family member was a care taker. Conclusion: Special attention should be given to changes in the health of caretakers, so they do not become a “hidden patient”, and unable to deal with the demands of patients with DLB. The knowledge and understanding of the specific symptoms of the pathology helps to accommodate the human resources to face the behavioral changes, identified as the most impacting factor in the lives of caretakers.