Soumaya ELAREM, MD
dr
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
Nada Ameur, dr
DR
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
Ikram Haddada, dr
dr
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
Aymen haj Salah, MD
dr
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
Mouna Sghir, MD
dr
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
Wassia Kessomtini, MD
dr
taher sfar hospital
mahdia, Al Mahdia, Tunisia
the aim of this study was to determine the quality of sleep and psychological impact of caregivers of frail elderly persons.
Design:
A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Physical Medicine and Functional Rehabilitation (PMR) Department focusing on caregivers of elderly people with loss of autonomy consulting the department during the study period. The degree of functional dependence of elderly persons was assessed by the MIF. sleep disorders were assessed by the Insomnia severity index (ISI) and depression by the patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9).
Results:
Seventy-two caregivers of elderly persons were included in our study. high functional dependency was noted in 75% of seniors. The mean insomnia severity index was 14.18 ±5.8, with extremes ranging from 4 to 27. In this series, 77.77% of caregivers had insomnia perceived as mild to moderate. The mean anxiety score was 9.81±5.35 with extremes ranging from 2 to 22. In our study population, 83.33% had mild to moderate depression versus 16.64% with moderately severe to severe depression.
The degree of functional dependence was significantly associated with insomnia(p< 0.05) and depression (p=0.03).
Conclusions:
The loss of an elderly person's autonomy is certainly a painful experience for family caregivers, who have to cope on a daily basis with the countless physical and emotional constraints that can threaten their lives. The status of family carer needs to be better recognized, with more attention, listening and support, to ensure a better quality of life for both the carer and their elderly relative who is losing their autonomy.
