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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Aug;33(5):624-46.
doi: 10.1177/0733464812454008. Epub 2012 Aug 7.

Identifying at-risk dementia caregivers following institutionalization: the nursing home admission-burden and nursing home admission-depression prognostic tools

Joseph E Gaugler  1 , Mary S Mittelman  2 , Kenneth Hepburn  3 , Robert Newcomer  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Identifying at-risk dementia caregivers following institutionalization: the nursing home admission-burden and nursing home admission-depression prognostic tools

Joseph E Gaugler et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

The current study developed prognostic tools to identify dementia caregivers at-risk for clinically relevant burden or depressive symptoms following nursing home admission (NHA) of their family members. A retrospective, longitudinal design was used that included 1,610 dementia caregivers who provided data prior to and up to 6 months following nursing home admission. Response operant characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to test and validate two prognostic tools: the NHA-Burden and NHA-Depression tools. An ROC curve yielded a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 62.5% at a cutoff score of 5.41 for the NHA-Burden Prognostic tool. A second ROC curve indicated a sensitivity of 75.4% and a specificity of 62.5% at a cutoff score of 7.45 for the NHA-Depression tool. Clinicians may wish to utilize cutpoints on the NHA-Burden and NHA-Depression tools to ensure that more persons who are at-risk for clinically significant burden or depression during NHA are identified.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; caregiving; dementia; nursing homes; stress.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
NHA-Burden Prognostic Tool: Sensitivity and Specificity (Validation Sample n = 774).
Figure 2
Figure 2
NHA-Depression Prognostic Tool: Sensitivity and Specificity (Validation Sample n = 813).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The NHA-Burden and NHA-Depression Prognostic Tools.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The NHA-Burden and NHA-Depression Prognostic Tools.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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