Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
Measuring dementia carers' unmet need for services--an exploratory mixed method study
Christine Stirling1, Sharon Andrews, Toby Croft
1Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 121, Hobart TAS, 7000 Australia. Christine.Stirling@utas.edu.au
Carers of people with dementia who feel they need more services report higher stress levels. A simple question about felt need may better identify stressed carers than burden measures alone.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Dementia Care
- Caregiver Support Services
Background:
- Community services assess unmet needs of dementia caregivers using burden measures.
- Bradshaw's taxonomy of need was used to explore links between burden, service use, and stated needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between caregiver burden, service utilization, and expressed needs in dementia caregivers.
- To determine if caregiver's felt need for services is a better indicator of unmet needs than traditional burden measures.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-method exploratory study involving 20 community-dwelling carer/care-recipient dyads.
- Compared caregiver burden measures with community services received and unmet needs.
Main Results:
- A single item on felt need for services correlated significantly with caregiver stress (GHQ-30).
- In-home respite use correlated with care-recipient's cognitive/functional status.
- No significant relationships found between carer burden/stress and service provision levels, except for respite.
Conclusions:
- Caregiver's felt need for assistance is a crucial indicator of stress and unmet needs, even when burden measures are not indicative.
- Service needs assessment should consider the limitations of caregiver burden measures and acknowledge external life stressors.
- A simple question about felt need can serve as an early warning for increasing caregiver stress.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
Dementia l: Introduction
Nursing Process for Patient and Caregiver Teaching I: Assessment and Diagnosis
It is critical to determine the patient's learning needs during the assessment. Determination of learning needs compounds data from the...