DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS’ COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS - Vol. 9 - No. S2

Q: What was the purpose of this study on dementia caregivers?

To examine dementia caregivers’ experiences with healthcare providers and how the frequency of caregiver communication relates to caregiver experience with providers.

Q: How does frequent communication relate to care tasks?

Frequent communication with healthcare providers was significantly associated with tasks relevant to medical care, including scheduling appointments and coordinating care.

Q: What differences were observed for caregivers with limited or no communication?

Caregivers with limited or no communication reported significantly less communication about whether they needed help managing patient care treatment, and those who did not communicate at all reported lower caregiver burden.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw

Caregiving for people living with dementia (PLWD) involves extensive daily-living and medical coordination tasks, and caregiver experiences can worsen as dementia progresses. Caregivers’ communication with healthcare providers has been insufficiently examined, despite its relevance to providing effective care. This study analyzes 240 caregiver reports from a clinical trial, assessing communication frequency and its relationship to caregiver experience with providers. Frequent communication was linked to key care tasks such as scheduling and coordinating.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS’ COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Study purpose and data source

Communication frequency and care tasks

Listening and understanding of treatments

Limited communication outcomes

Caregiver burden and positive caregiving aspects

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 983 (e.g., scheduling appointments, communication about the patient’s medical conditions) are critical to providing care for the PLWD. However, caregivers’ interaction with healthcare providers remains underexplored. This study examines caregivers’ experiences with dementia patients’ healthcare providers. Using reports from 240 caregivers of dementia patients enrolled in a clinical trial, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the frequency of caregivers’ communication with PLWD’s healthcare workers and its relationship to caregivers’ experience with providers. Results showed that frequent communication with healthcare providers is significantly associated with tasks relevant to medical care such as scheduling appointments (χ2=12.89, p<.01) and coordinating care (χ2=30.02, p<.001). Caregivers who frequently communicated with patients’ healthcare providers reported providers always or usually listened (98.9%; χ2=14.67, p<.001) and asked about their understanding of patients’ treatments (77.8%;χ2=9.69, p<.01) . Caregivers with limited or no communication with healthcare professionals reported significantly less communication on whether they needed help managing patients’ care treatment (64.5%; χ2=26.21, p<.001) . Caregivers who did not communicate at all reported significantly lower burden (F = 4.01, p<.05) while caregivers who did communicate a lot reported higher positive aspects of caregiving compared to their counterparts (F = 7.99, p<.001) . These findings underscore the importance of structured engagement between dementia caregivers and health professionals, which could alleviate caregiver burden and enhance care patient outcomes. Abstract citation ID: igaf122.3319 DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS’ COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS Jinmyoung Cho1, Alan Stevens2, Jennifer Thorud3, Jordan Reese3, and Marcia Ory4, 1. Saint Louis University, Saint Louis University, Missouri, United States, 2. Baylor Scott & White Health, Belton, Texas, United States, 3. Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Temple, Texas, United States, 4. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States The scope of caregiving for people living with dementia (PLWD) includes helping with activities of daily living to managing complex medical and nursing-related tasks. Engaging in multiple tasks leads to negative caregiving experiences. As dementia progresses, interactions with healthcare systems

FAQs

What was the purpose of this study on dementia caregivers?

To examine dementia caregivers’ experiences with healthcare providers and how the frequency of caregiver communication relates to caregiver experience with providers.

How does frequent communication relate to care tasks?

Frequent communication with healthcare providers was significantly associated with tasks relevant to medical care, including scheduling appointments and coordinating care.

What differences were observed for caregivers with limited or no communication?

Caregivers with limited or no communication reported significantly less communication about whether they needed help managing patient care treatment, and those who did not communicate at all reported lower caregiver burden.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw