Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T20:33:01.859Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

People with Alzheimer's disease and their spouse-caregivers: differences in perceptions of sexual satisfaction?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2017

Briony Dow  and
Sue Malta
Briony Dow*
Affiliation:
National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
Sue Malta
Affiliation:
National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
*
Email: b.dow@nari.unimelb.edu.au
Get access

Extract

Older informal caregivers aged 65+ years account for 34% of all carers in the USA (Family Caregivers Alliance, 2016), 22% in England and Wales (Carers UK, 2015), and 24% in Australia (Deloitte Access Economics, 2015). For many older carers, this means looking after their spouse or intimate partner who in many cases has dementia (Donnellan et al., 2015). As the incidence of dementia increases, the need to understand the impact of caring on these intimate relationships becomes more vital, so the experiences of spousal caregivers can be anticipated, validated, and supported. It is also important to understand the gender differences in these care relationships, so that education and services can be tailored to meet the different needs of men and women caregivers. Sexual activity in later life is associated with both mental and physical health (Ganong and Larson, 2011; Anderson, 2013), and is therefore, important to maintain, perhaps even in the context of caring for someone with dementia.

Type
Commentary paper of the month
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , February 2017 , pp. 181 - 183
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. M. (2013). Positive sexuality and its impact on overall well-being. Bundesgesundheitsbl, 56, 208–214.Google Scholar
Bauer, M., Fetherstonhaugh, D., Nay, R., Tarzia, L. and Beattie, E. (2013a). Sexuality Assessment Tool (SexAT) for Residential Aged Care Facilities. Melbourne: La Trobe University.Google Scholar
Bauer, M., Fetherstonhaugh, D., Tarzia, L., Nay, R., Wellman, D. and Beattie, E. (2013b). ‘I always look under the bed for a man’. Needs and barriers to the expression of sexuality in residential aged care: the views of residents with and without dementia. Psychology & Sexuality, 4, 296–309.Google Scholar
Birch, H. (2009). Dementia, Lesbians and Gay Men. Canberra: Alzheimer's Australia.Google Scholar
Carers UK (2015). Facts About Carers Policy Briefing. London: Carers UK.Google Scholar
Deloitte Access Economics (2015). The Economic Value of Informal Care in Australia in 2015. Canberra: Carers Australia.Google Scholar
Donnellan, W. J., Bennett, K. M. and Soulsby, L. K. (2015). What are the factors that facilitate or hinder resilience in older spousal dementia carers? A qualitative study. Aging and Mental Health, 19, 932–939.Google Scholar
Dow, B. (2003). The Invisible Contract: Caregiving in Home-Based Rehabilitation. Australia: University of Ballarat.Google Scholar
Dow, B. and Meyer, C. (2010). Caring and retirement. International Journal of Health Services, 40, 645–665.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eloniemi-Sulkava, U. et al. (2002). Spouse caregivers' perceptions of influence of dementia on marriage. International Psychogeriatrics, 14, 47–58.Google Scholar
Family Caregivers Alliance (2016). Caregiver Statistics: Demographics [Online]. San Francisco, CA: Family Caregivers Alliance. Available at: https://www.caregiver.org; last accessed 16 November 2016.Google Scholar
Fisher, M. (1994). Man made care: community care and older male carers. British Journal of Social Work, 24, 659–680.Google Scholar
Ganong, K. and Larson, E. (2011). Intimacy and belonging: the association between sexual activity and depression among older adults. Society and Mental Health, 1, 153–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, S. M., Adams, M. S., Zubatsky, M. and White, M. (2011). A caregiver's perspective of how Alzheimer's disease and related disorders affect couple intimacy. Aging and Mental Health, 15, 950–960.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nogueira, M. M. et al. (2017). Perception of change in sexual activity in Alzheimer's disease: views of people with dementia and their spouse-caregivers. International Psychogeriatrics, 29, 185–193.Google Scholar
Roach, S. M. (2004). Sexual behaviour of nursing home residents: staff perceptions and responses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48, 371–379.Google Scholar
Tinney, J., Dow, B., Maude, P., Purchase, R., Whyte, C. and Barrett, C. (2015). Mental health issues and discrimination among older LGBTI people. International Psychogeriatrics, 27, 1411–1416.Google Scholar