Association between hospice care and psychological outcomes in Alzheimer's spousal caregivers.

Context: Dementia care giving can lead to increased stress, physical and psychosocial morbidity, and mortality. Anecdotal evidence suggests that hospice care provided to people with dementia and their caregivers may buffer caregivers from some of the adverse outcomes associated with family caregiving in Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Objectives: This pilot study examined psychological and physical outcomes among 32 spousal caregivers of patients with AD.