[Early detection and prevention of elder abuse and neglect in family care giving: development of the PURFAM assessment]. / Früherkennung und Prävention von Misshandlung und Vernachlässigung in der familialen Pflege: Die Entwicklung des PURFAM-Assessments.

The purpose of the PURFAM ("potentials and risk factors of family caregiving for older people") project is to support staff members of home care services in preventing elder abuse by facilitating an assessment instrument for early recognition and a standard for action. During a pilot phase of the project nursing staff of home services were presented with training sessions in which the use of the PURFAM assessment was introduced using concrete examples from routine daily work. The article describes the development of the PURFAM assessment and its first evaluation by staff members of nursing home services. The preliminary results indicate a high practicability und acceptance of the instrument by staff members. The sustainability of PURFAM is yet to be tested using the data of the still ongoing main part of the evaluation.

[Predictors of personal growth among caregivers of dementia patients]. / Prädiktoren von Persönlichkeitswachstum bei pflegenden Angehörigen demenziell Erkrankter.

Much of the research on caregiving has focussed on burden, stress, and coping, but there may also be positive outcomes associated with the process of care. Relatives caring for dementia patients report that they have grown more mature personally and gain a better idea of what is important in life. The purpose of this study is to look at predictors of personal growth. A total of 888 relatives of patients with dementia were examined. We found, using ordinary least squares regression, that personal growth was correlated with stressors and context variables like duration of caregiving, lack of social recognition, and the need for help with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in the person with dementia. Personal growth through caregiving was predicted by duration of caregiving during the first years of caregiving. These findings underscore the importance of the negative aspects (stress, burden, long duration) that contribute to the development of personal growth through care.

[Domestic abuse of dementia patients: data collection in a difficult research area]. / Gewalt gegen demenziell Erkrankte in der Familie: Datenerhebung in einem schwer zugänglichen Forschungsgebiet.

In the context of a longitudinal dementia caregiver stress study, a short questionnaire was developed in order to assess domestic abuse of dementia patients. By embedding the sensitive topic of domestic violence in a different research context, good compliance in the sample could be achieved which results in high prevalence rates.

[Family care of patients with dementia: differential significance of specific stress dimensions for the well-being of caregivers and the stability of the home nursing situation]. / Zur familiären Pflege demenzkranker Menschen: Die differentielle Bedeutung spezifischer Belastungsdimensionen für das Wohlbefinden der Pflegenden und die Stabilität der häuslichen Pflegesituation.

In Germany more than 60% of those elderly who suffer from dementia are being cared for by family members within the community. The objective conditions are perceived as extremely burdensome by many caregivers and can seriously affect their psychological and physical well-being. The aim of this study was to discrimininatively analyze the meaning of various dimensions of burden for the carers' well-being and the stability of the caregiving situation. Thus, an explicit distinction is made between caregiver burden which directly refers to the situation and the more general concept of well-being which is potentially, but not necessarily, affected by the caregiving situation. Caregivers' life satisfaction, self-esteem, and their subjective perception of the stability of the caregiving situation (subjective probability of patient's institutionalization within the next 12 months) were regarded as indicators for potential outcomes of caregiving. Regression analysis revealed that to the caregiver's life satisfaction perceived role conflicts are most significant. For the caregiver's self-esteem patient's objective cognitive impairment is decisive. Here the direction of the relation is remarkable: The more severe the patient's impairment, the higher the caregiver's self-esteem. Regarding the stability of the caregiving situation the perceived inadequacy of caregiving resources proves to be of prime importance. Results suggest that a differentiated examination of the complex relations between specific dimensions of burden and potential caregiving outcomes is an adaquate approach to a deeper understanding of the consequences of family caregiving.