Emotional stress and burden of caregivers
Last year, the Times of Oman launched a campaign to help boost palliative care services in the country which received a huge response. This article, written by Dr Mundher Al Maqbali, Senior Resident in Psychiatry at the Ministry of Health (MoH), is the of
MUSCAT: Dementia is a chronic disorder characterised by severe memory loss and forgetfulness and the sufferer’s condition deteriorates with time.
The patient will eventually require support for the basic activities including bathing and feeding. The caregiver is a relative and family member who has to assist the patient in his daily activities.
The task of care giving is possibly one of the most difficult as it exposes the caregivers to various emotional and physical chal- lenges such as seeing a loved one lose their mental capacity with forgetfulness even of the family members.
Anxiety
In Oman we have encountered many people suffering with anxiety and depression because of the task of caregiving and the demands of looking after a loved one.
An example is a paediatrician who stopped her career after she found herself the only caregiver for her mother with Alzheimer’s dementia. Her time was devoted to her sick mother who eventually became fully dependent on her daughter to look after her.
Caregivers in Oman are not different from the rest of the world in terms of suffering and crying for help.
A recent study done by my colleagues and I at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) found that two thirds of caregivers are experiencing a high degree of stress due to the burden of caring for a loved one with dementia. This can expose the caregivers to depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. My colleague, Dr Hamed Al Sinawi, has studied the feeling of guilt among caregivers and found that more than half of them are preoccupied with guilt and thoughts that they aren’t doing enough for their loved ones.
This sense of guilt in the caregiver can lead to self-blame and also depression.
The support available to the caregivers is currently very limited. There are only a few people specialised in old age health care and the service is not widely available throughout the country, however initiatives such as the family doctor awareness programmes and dementia care groups designed to help the elderly and their caregivers are developing.
In addition to these programmes, I suggest initiation of a home based community service to provide an outreach service to the elderly, many of whom are too infirm or confused to come to hospitals or health centres. This will solve many problems encountered by patients and their caregivers including transportation and medications administration.