Raymond

Internet-based program for Alzheimer caregivers in Yogyakarta

Worldwide, 36 million people live with dementia, and this number is expected to increase to an alarming 115.4 million by 2050. The global cost of dementia was estimated at $604bn in 2010 (World Alzheimer Report, 2010). Because of the major increase in the number of dementia patients in the near future, it is expected that the cost of care for dementia will increase by 85% in 2030, possibly making it the most expensive disease of our society (World Alzheimer Report, 2010).

In Indonesia itself, people who lives with dementia are estimated will be increase from 960.000 in 2013 to 1.89 million in 2030 and 3.98 milliion in 2050 (World Report Alzheimer, 2012). In Yogyakarta, survey that had been done from January 2015 untill January 2016 found that from 2000 citizens whose age 60-80 years old, there are about 20.1 % positive having  alzheimer. The population encompass 100 villages in 5 districts/cities in Yogyakarta (Tempo, 2016).

Most patients with dementia live at home and are cared for primarily by their spouse or other family members, the informal caregiver. Caregivers of dementia patients often suffer from physical and emotional problems as a result of the stressful and burdensome caregiving process (Donaldson and Burns, 1999; Vitaliano et al., 2003; de Vugt et al., 2004). Therefore, they could be referred to—as Brodaty and Donkin (2009) put it—“the invisible second patient.”

Many psychosocial interventions have been developed to offer support for informal caregivers of patients with dementia (Selwood et al., 2007; Van Mierlo et al., 2012b), and these interventions have demonstrated great potential in improving caregiver mood, improving caregiver quality of life, and delaying the institutionalization of the care recipient.

Most currently available interventions are “face to-face” interventions, but the predicted increase in the number of people with dementia has led to concerns about whether the current labor force can cope with such an increased future demand (Macdonald and Cooper, 2007). 

E-health interventions could be an efficient alternative to continue to provide education and support for the informal caregivers (Glueckauf and Loomis, 2003; Martin-Carrasco et al., 2009) at reduced costs (Lewis et al., 2010a). In addition, interventions offered via the Internet likely exhibit a lower threshold of access for participation because informal caregivers can access help in the privacy of their own homes without leaving their loved ones alone. Technology can also reach people who are isolated and have difficulties accessing traditional services.

From the background stated above, I would like to plan about making a program to support Alzheimer caregivers in Yogyakarta with an internet-based program. There are some journals discussing about the efficiency and effectiveness of an internet-based supportive for the Alzheimer caregivers and the outcome of the study.

Journal about study design to see the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of internet intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an internet intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia: design of a randomized controlled trial

Journal about multimedia program which tailored individually for each caregivers of alzheimer
Worksite-Based Internet Multimedia Program for Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia

Journal which compares chat group vs video conference group in the internet intervention
Dementia Caregivers’ Responses to 2 Internet-Based Intervention Programs

Journal  about the use of ethno-cultural-linguistic approach in making the intervention program
Internet-Based Caregiver Support for Chinese Canadians Taking Care of a Family Member with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementia

Journal about systemic review of internet-based supportive intervention for dementia caregivers
A systematic review of Internet-based supportive interventions for caregivers of patients with dementia