Latino Alzheimer’s caregivers: What is important to them?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the perception and psychosocial impact of caregiving for Latino family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and compare them to non-Hispanic (NH) white caregivers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for a survey design using the Screen for Caregiver Burden, Perceived Stress Scale, Short Form 36 Health Survey, Symptom Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Depression, Sense of Coherence, Coping Resources Inventory, and the Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ-85). A total of 202 participants with 53 Latino caregivers (majority were Mexican-Americans) and 149 NH white caregivers also completed an in-depth qualitative interview describing their experience as caregivers. Findings – Latino caregivers, as compared to NH white caregivers, have higher subjective and objective caregiver burden and lower general health, social function, and physical function. They also reported higher levels of bodily pain and somatic sy...