Utilisation of services by informal caregivers of community-dwelling persons living with dementia making use of the dementia activity centres in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

Dementia is one of the most important socio- medical conditions and public health challenges facing the Maltese informal and formal caregivers. In recent years, a number of services, including dementia-specific services, have been launched locally in order to assist persons living with dementia and their informal caregivers residing in the community. Although a number of these services have proved to be popular with informal caregivers, research on their utilisation and level of satisfaction is lacking. As a result, this study aimed to investigate service use and levels of service satisfaction of local informal caregivers of persons living with dementia. Data from 38 informal caregivers of community-dwelling persons living with dementia making use of the available Dementia Activity Centres was collected using a specifically designed questionnaire to determine which services were being utilised and the level of satisfaction on service use by informal caregivers. Persons living with dementia had a mean age of 76.7+/- 6.1 years and were mostly living with their relatives. Informal caregivers had a mean age of 60.3+/- 11.5 years, in the majority were daughters to the person living with dementia and had been in their caregiving role for more than five years. Results showed that caregivers mostly required assistance with bathing, handling of medication and transportation. Among the dementia-specific services available to persons living with dementia, caregivers mostly utilised the Dementia Activity Centres, the Dementia Wards at St. Vincent de Paul and the Dementia Helpline. Informal caregivers’ knowledge on dementia-specific services that were introduced following the launch of the National Dementia Strategy for the Maltese Islands were found to be lacking. In general, informal caregivers indicated a high degree of satisfaction with most of the services they utilised but unmet needs still subsisted. The findings demonstrated that although a number of services aimed at persons living with dementia and their caregivers are available, there is still lack of awareness of their existence. Such data can be useful to inform education and dementia practice and policy regarding the components required for the delivery of community-based dementia services aimed at bettering the quality of dementia care in the Maltese Islands.