Caregivers' Experience of Providing Care for Demented Persons Living at Home

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Abstract
Caregivers providing home-care for demented persons answered a questionnaire concerning what was satisfactory or problematic when providing home-care. They were also asked what needs/wishes they had for themselves and for the demented persons. The findings reflected the impact of a functioning interpersonal relationship between the caregiver and the demented person and his family. The difficulties in handling problematic behaviour, and the necessity to be able to stimulate and provide activities for the demented were also emphasized. Moreover, the caregivers stressed their role as supporters of the patients' families, their need for more and better cooperation with the staff of the psychogeriatric clinic, and their need for training and supervision in how to manage their relationship with the demented person. Hence, it seems urgent to try to practise and evaluate systematic clinical guidance to provide knowledge and systematic supervision about how to manage demented persons in their own social context so that they can stay in their homes.