Current status and associated factors of training demand among caregivers of dementia patients at home

Objective To assess the demand for training among caregivers of dementia patients at home,and to explore factors associated with the demand.Methods The data on training demand of 752 home care givers of dementia patients were derived from the baseline survey of the National Multi-Center Observational Registry Study for Alzheimer Disease conducted at 28 tertiary hospitals in 16 cities between November 2012 through March 2013 in China.Results Of all the caregivers,only 49(6.52%)reported ever receiving training for dementia care and 450(59.84%)reported the demand for the training,with the top three required trainings for daily routine care(86.3%),essential related knowledge(80.3%),and management of problem behaviors(79.7%);the required major training routes included television/radio program(85.0%),health education lecture in the community(80.9%),and newspaper/magazine(76.4%).There were significant differences in the dementia patients' occupation,annual household income,disease comorbidity(diabetes,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,and stroke),and the subtypes of dementia between their caregivers with and without training demand(all P<0.005).The results of multivariate unconditional logistic regression showed that higher training demand of the caregivers was associated with dementia patient's occupation(teacher/technical or medical professional:odds ratioOR=0.431,95% confidence interval95%CI=0.214-0.867;cadre or administrative staff:OR=0.497,95%CI=0.253-0.977;civil servant:OR=0.303,95%CI=0.104-0.879;and farmer:OR=0.201,95%CI=0.086-0.468);whereas lower training demand of the caregivers was associated with dementia patient's annual household income(30 000-12 000RMB yuan:OR=1.675,95%CI=1.155-2.428;<12 000:OR=2.265,95%CI=1.374-3.733)and type of dementia(vascular dementia:OR=2.051,95%CI=1.161-3.623).Conclusion The caregivers of dementia patients at home have higher training demand and the demand is influenced by socioeconomic status and disease condition of the patients under their cares.