What Has the Pandemic Taught Us About Caregiving? Mental Health in Family Caregivers of People with Dementia One Year After the Lock-Down Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Article type: Article Commentary

Authors: Jiménez-Gonzalo, Lucía^{a; *} | Bermejo-Gómez, Isabel^b

Affiliations: [a] Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain | [b] Faculty of Psychology, Madrid Autonomous University, Madrid, Spain

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Lucía Jiménez-Gonzalo, Rey Juan Carlos University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Avda de Atenas s/n, 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain. Tel.: +34 916655060 (ext. 8653); E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Caregiving for a person with dementia is considered a situation of chronic stress, with consequences on caregivers’ physical and psychological health. The usual challenges of dementia care were intensified during the pandemic due to the risk of contagion, social isolation measures, and decrease in healthcare resources. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the stress both in the persons with dementia and their caregivers. This commentary reflects on the long-term effects of the pandemic on caregivers’ mental health, focusing on the study by Olavarría and colleagues and drawing future research lines for culturally diverse family caregivers.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, COVID-19, cross-cultural, dementia caregivers

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-240172

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-5, 2024