Home › Research › Caregiving
Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries
Prince M, 10/66 Dementia Research Group.. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2004-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Rapid demographic ageing will soon lead to large increases in the numbers of persons with dementia in developing countries. This study is the first comprehensive assessment of care arrangements for people with dementia in those regions. Methods A descriptive and comparative study of dementia care; caregiver characteristics, the nature of care provided, and the practical, psychological (Zarit Burden Interview, General Health Questionnaire) and economic impact upon the caregiver in 24 centres in India, China and South East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. Results We interviewed 706 persons with dementia, and their caregivers. Most caregivers were women, living with the person with dementia in extended family households. One-quarter to one-half of households included a child. Larger households were associated with lower caregiver strain, where the caregiver was co-resident. However, despite the traditional apparatus of family care, levels of caregiver strain were at least as high as in the developed world. Many had cutback on work to care and faced the additional expense of paid carers and health services. Families from the poorest countries were particularly likely to have used expensive private medical services, and to be spending more than 10% of the per capita GNP on health care. Conclusions Older people in developing countries are indivisible from their younger family members. The high levels of family strain identified in this study feed into the cycle of disadvantage and should thus be a concern for policymakers in the developing world.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Prince, M., & 10/66 Dementia Research Group. (2004). Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1046
Vancouver
Prince M, 10/66 Dementia Research Group. Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2004. doi:10.1002/gps.1046. PMID: 14758582.
BibTeX
@article{prince2004-14758582,
author = {Prince, M. and {10/66 Dementia Research Group}},
title = {{Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries}},
journal = {International journal of geriatric psychiatry},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1002/gps.1046},
pmid = {14758582},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1046}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results We interviewed 706 persons with dementia, and their caregivers.
- Larger households were associated with lower caregiver strain, where the caregiver was co-resident.
Why it matters
In what it calls the first comprehensive look at dementia care in developing countries, this 2004 study interviewed 706 people with dementia and their caregivers (mostly women living in extended families) at 24 centres in India, China, South East Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Caregiver strain was "at least as high as in the developed world" despite family-based care. Many caregivers cut back on work, and families in the poorest countries often paid for expensive private medical care, spending more than 10% of per-capita GNP on health. The study describes care arrangements and associations, such as larger households being linked to lower strain for live-in caregivers; it does not test any treatment.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Caregiving →
Study details
- Participants706
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International journal of geriatric psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 190 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 706 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 272 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.3 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 15 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Martin James Prince: h-index 116 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | King's College London: institution h-index 1,348 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 14758582) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
15 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Caregiving
Also tagged “care”
996 studies in the library carry the topic tag “care”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 996 tagged studies.