Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov;30(6):e5391-e5400.
doi: 10.1111/hsc.13960. Epub 2022 Aug 16.

Impact of confinement measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and their caregivers in Spain

Raquel García Santelesforo  1 , Teresa Rodríguez Del Rey  1 , Enrique Pérez-Sáez  1 , Beatriz Peláez Hernández  1
Affiliations

Impact of confinement measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with dementia and their caregivers in Spain

Raquel García Santelesforo et al. Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected people living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers, who have seen their access to social support services and opportunities for socialisation limited. The objective of the study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on PLWD and their caregivers in Spain. An online survey was conducted between November 27, 2020, and January 19, 2021, that explored compliance with prevention guidelines, changes at the family level and in access to social support services. Instruments were included to estimate levels of anxiety and depression. The survey was answered by 229 people (161 current caregivers, 54 former caregivers, 13 formal caregivers and 1 person with dementia). Analysis of the current and former caregivers showed that they felt well informed, although they find it difficult for PLWD to comply with prevention guidelines. The use of social support services was reduced and the difficulty of access to social and health services increased, there was a negative impact on the economic situation and family relationships, with an increase in perceived overload. In addition, caregivers of PLWD scored above the cut-off points in the tests used to assess depression and anxiety, although the results of the multiple regression analysis do not allow us to conclude that the loss of resources influences the anxiety and depression scores. The negative impact of the pandemic on caregivers of PLWD is verified. It is necessary to adapt social support services and design strategies to maintain the provision of support to these vulnerable groups.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; COVID-19; caregivers; confinement; dementia; social care; social support services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Change in social support services utilisation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Altieri, M. , & Santangelo, G. (2021). The psychological impact of COVID‐19 pandemic and lockdown on caregivers of people with dementia. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(1), 27–34. 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.10.009 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azevedo, L. , Calandri, I. L. , Slachevsky, A. , Graviotto, H. G. , Vieira, M. C. S. , Andrade, C. B. , Rossetti, A. P. , Generoso, A. B. , Carmona, K. C. , Pinto, L. A. C. , Sorbara, M. , Pinto, A. , Guajardo, T. , Olavarria, L. , Thumala, D. , Crivelli, L. , Vivas, L. , Allegri, R. F. , Barbosa, M. T. , … Caramelli, P. (2021). Impact of social isolation on people with dementia and their family caregivers. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD, 81(2), 607–617. 10.3233/jad-201580 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balouch, S. , Rifaat, E. , Chen, H. L. , & Tabet, N. (2019). Social networks and loneliness in people with Alzheimer's dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 34(5), 666–673. - PubMed
    1. Brooks, S. K. , Webster, R. K. , Smith, L. E. , Woodland, L. , Wessely, S. , Greenberg, N. , & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown, E. E. , Kumar, S. , Rajji, T. K. , Pollock, B. G. , & Mulsant, B. H. (2020). Anticipating and mitigating the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(7), 712–721. 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.04.010 - DOI - PMC - PubMed