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When home caregiving ends: a longitudinal study of outcomes for caregivers of relatives with dementia
Gold DP, Reis MF, Markiewicz D, Andres D.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1995-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To study caregivers' decisions to end home care for relatives with dementia; to study the changes in caregiver functioning over time. Design A prospective longitudinal follow-up study. Setting Individual homes and chronic care facilities in Montreal. Participants 157 caregiver-dependent dyads, followed up 2 years later; dependents had been diagnosed as having progressive dementia. Measurements A standard interview and a series of standardized psychological questionnaires were given to caregivers, assessing their functioning and their appraisals of the dependent person in their care. Dependents received the Mini-Mental State Examination. Main results Caregivers cited patient deterioration as the most common reason for ending home care. Most caregivers did not prepare their relative before institutionalization. Most caregivers were satisfied with having ended home care and believed the decision was positive for themselves and their dependent, but a sizable minority of caregivers and dependents had difficulty adjusting to the end of home care. Repeated measures multivariate analyses indicated that caregivers who had discontinued home care because of placement or death of the dependent had improved functioning and quality of life and better health than caregivers still providing home care. Conclusions Caregivers most frequently cite deteriorating patient conditions as the main causes of ending home care. Caregiver exhaustion is the single most frequently given reason. Caregivers who were still providing home care at the end of the study were functioning less well than caregivers who had ended home care, despite having initially functioned at better levels.
Key findings
- Main results Caregivers cited patient deterioration as the most common reason for ending home care.
- Repeated measures multivariate analyses indicated that caregivers who had discontinued home care because of placement or death of the dependent had improved functioning and quality of life and better health than caregivers still providing home care.
Why it matters
Caregivers who ended home care because of placement or death of their relative with dementia had improved functioning, quality of life, and health compared with those still providing home care. This concerns caregiver outcomes, not the treatment, cure, or prevention of dementia.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1995 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 127 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.8 citations a year over 33 year(s) since 1995 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author David Andrés: h-index 15 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Concordia University: institution h-index 503 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 7806732) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 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.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
Gold, D. P., Reis, M. F., Markiewicz, D., & Andres, D. (1995). When home caregiving ends: a longitudinal study of outcomes for caregivers of relatives with dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb06235.x
Vancouver
Gold DP, Reis MF, Markiewicz D, Andres D. When home caregiving ends: a longitudinal study of outcomes for caregivers of relatives with dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1995. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb06235.x. PMID: 7806732.
BibTeX
@article{gold1995-7806732,
author = {Gold, D. P. and Reis, M. F. and Markiewicz, D. and Andres, D.},
title = {{When home caregiving ends: a longitudinal study of outcomes for caregivers of relatives with dementia}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb06235.x},
pmid = {7806732},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb06235.x}
}
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