Sense of coherence, subjective burden, and anxiety and depression symptoms in caregivers of people with dementia: Causal dynamics unveiled by a longitudinal cohort study in Europe.

Background: Sense of coherence (SOC) is a disposition to perceive things as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. Lower SOC is associated with subjective burden and psychological morbidity in family caregivers, including in dementia. However, the evidence-base mainly comprises small-scale or cross-sectional studies.

Addressing relationship quality of people with dementia and their family carers: which profiles require most support?

Objective: The quality of the relationship between persons with dementia and family carers influences health and quality-of-life outcomes. Little is known regarding those at higher risk of experiencing a decline in relationship quality, who could potentially benefit the most from interventions. We aimed to identify these risk profiles and explore the underlying factors.

Physical Activity in Mild Vascular Cognitive Impairment: Results of the AFIVASC Randomized Controlled Trial at 6 Months.

Background: Vascular cognitive impairment is frequent, in mild (mVCI) or severe forms (vascular dementia).

Objective: To do a randomized controlled-trial to evaluate the impact of physical activity on cognition (primary outcome), neurocognitive measures, quality of life, functional status, and physical function (secondary outcomes), in patients with mVCI.

Methods: A hundred and four patients with mVCI (mean age 71.

Supported accommodations for people with serious mental disorders: Care pathways and predictors of age of entry and length of stay.

Introduction: Supported accommodations (SAs) are key components of community mental health care, but little is known about residents' care pathways. This study analysed the care pathways of residents of SAs, and factors associated with their age of entry and length of stay.

Methods: A random sample of SAs' residents in Portugal was interviewed and a questionnaire was specifically developed to assess their care pathways.

Needs for Care, Service Use and Quality of Life in Dementia: 12-Month Follow-Up of the Actifcare Study in Portugal.

Introduction: The intermediate stages of dementia are relatively under-researched, including in Portugal. The Actifcare (ACcess to TImely Formal Care) EU-JPND project studied people with mild-moderate dementia, namely their needs, access to and use of community services (e.g.

The quality of family relationships in dementia: Mixed methods to unravel mixed feelings.

Close relationships influence health and quality of life outcomes for people with dementia and their families. Yet, we know little on the role of different relationship domains with quantitative methods having proved to have limitations in this research field. We aimed to study these relationship domains over time, contrasting the views of people with dementia and their family carers, making use of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Physical Activity Self-Report Is Not Reliable Among Subjects with Mild Vascular Cognitive Impairment: The AFIVASC Study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Adherence to these recommendations is difficult to assess.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the validity of self-reported physical activity in mild vascular cognitive impairment (mVCI) and whether physical activity was associated with cognitive status, by using baseline data from a randomized controlled trial.

Dementia and primary care teams: obstacles to the implementation of Portugal's Dementia Strategy.

Background: Portugal has a Dementia Strategy that endorses care coordination in the community, but the strategy is not implemented despite there being a network of multidisciplinary primary care clinics that could support it. Recent research into barriers to dementia management in primary care has focused essentially on general practitioners' (GPs) factors and perspectives. A comprehensive triangulated view on the barriers to dementia management emphasising teamwork is missing.

Trajectories of relationship quality in dementia: a longitudinal study in eight European countries.

Objectives: Relationship quality (RQ) between a person with dementia and a family carer may influence their health and quality of life. However, evidence regarding its course and influencing factors is limited. We aimed to explore RQ trajectories in dementia, and identify predictors of change.

How Many People Live with Dementia in Portugal? A Discussion Paper of National Estimates.

Dementia poses major public health challenges, and high-quality epidemiological data are needed for service planning. Published estimates of numbers of people with dementia in Portugal have been based, in most cases, on prevalence rates derived from international studies or expert consensus. As in many other countries, Portuguese community prevalence studies' results are nongeneralizable to a country level.

Associations between unmet needs for daytime activities and company and scores on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire in people with dementia: a longitudinal study.

Objectives: To examine prospectively the association between unmet needs for daytime activities and company and behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

Methods: We included 451 people with mild or moderate dementia, from eight European countries, who were assessed three times over 12 months. Unmet needs were measured with the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly.

What is the present role for general practitioners in dementia care? Experiences of general practitioners, patients and family carers in Portugal.

Background: Governments are being challenged to integrate at least part of dementia care into primary care. However, little is known about the current role of general practitioners (GPs) regarding dementia care, especially in countries that do not have dementia strategies in place. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of GPs, persons with dementia and their family carers in Portuguese primary care settings, to better understand GPs' contribution to dementia care.

A validation study of the CarerQol instrument in informal caregivers of people with dementia from eight European countries.

Purpose: Informal care constitutes an important part of the total care for people with dementia. Therefore, the impact of the syndrome on their caregivers as well as that of health and social care services for people with dementia should be considered. This study investigated the convergent and clinical validity of the CarerQol instrument, which measures and values the impact of providing informal care, in a multi-country sample of caregivers for people with dementia.

Obtaining EQ-5D-5L utilities from the disease specific quality of life Alzheimer's disease scale: development and results from a mapping study.

Purpose: The Quality of Life Alzheimer's Disease Scale (QoL-AD) is commonly used to assess disease specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as rated by patients and their carers. For cost-effectiveness analyses, utilities based on the EQ-5D are often required. We report a new mapping algorithm to obtain EQ-5D indices when only QoL-AD data are available.

Positive and negative experiences of caregiving in dementia: The role of sense of coherence.

Objectives: Sense of coherence (SOC) is increasingly recognized as an important health determinant, particularly for mental health. Part of the evidence comes from informal caregivers in diverse clinical conditions. The extent to which SOC influences caregiving outcomes, however, is relatively under-researched in dementia, particularly regarding positive experiences.

Profiles of Met and Unmet Needs in People with Dementia According to Caregivers' Perspective: Results from a European Multicenter Study.

Objectives: This exploratory study aimed at investigating profiles of care needs in people with mild to moderate dementia and examined variables associated with these profiles.

Design: A longitudinal international cohort study.

Setting And Participants: The baseline data of 447 community-dwelling dyads of people with dementia and their caregivers from the Access to Timely Formal Care (Actifcare) Study were included for analysis.

A comparison of primary and secondary caregivers of persons with dementia.

Having 2 or more relatives involved in the informal care of people with dementia is frequent worldwide. There are, however, few comparisons of primary and secondary caregivers and even fewer of those who are caring for the same person. Our study aimed to contrast these 2 experiences of caregiving.