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Dementia and family burden of care in Lebanon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Monique Chaaya
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, email mchaaya@aub.edu.lb
Kieu Phung
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Danish Dementia Research Center, The Neuroscience Center, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Samir Atweh
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon
Khalil El Asmar
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Georges Karam
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, St George Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Rosemary Khoury
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon
Lilian Ghandour
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Husam Ghusn
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon
Sarah Assaad
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Martin Prince
Affiliation:
Department of Health Service and Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Gunhild Waldemar
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Danish Dementia Research Center, The Neuroscience Center, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Abstract

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The burden on and mental well-being of family carers for the elderly, especially those with dementia, has been well studied in high-income countries and to a lesser extent in the Arab region. Our study of Lebanese carers highlights the importance of considering the psychological well-being of the family carer, and the role of dementia and depression in increasing the burden of care. Psychosocial interventions have produced equivocal results and therefore customised and contextualised interventions need to be researched. Greater understanding of the coping mechanisms used by carers is required and an examination of the positive aspects of caring is warranted.

Type
Thematic Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017

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