Caregivers' Experience at an Integrated Memory Care Clinic

Area of Science:

• Gerontological Nursing
• Dementia Care
• Primary Care Integration

Background:

• The Integrated Memory Care Clinic offers simultaneous dementia and primary care.
• Patient-centered medical homes are crucial for managing chronic conditions like dementia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the experiences of informal caregivers during the first year at the Integrated Memory Care Clinic.
• To identify caregiver needs and challenges in dementia care.

Main Methods:

• Directed content analysis of qualitative data from 12 informal caregivers.
• Exploration of caregiver experiences within a patient-centered medical home model.

Main Results:

• Caregivers reported a strong sense of belonging and valued the expertise of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
• Caregivers expressed feeling overwhelmed, needing more resources, medical/non-medical support, and prognostic information.
• Despite the Clinic's benefits, caregiving demands often exceeded available services.

Conclusions:

• The Integrated Memory Care Clinic provides valuable support for dementia caregivers.
• There is a critical need to enhance services and resources to meet the comprehensive needs of caregivers and persons living with dementia.