Screening of Dementia and Self-Care Burden Among the Elderly in Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province

Abstract

Background and Objective: At present, the Thai elderly people represent a growing segment of Thai population. The majority of patients with chronic diseases admitted to hospitals are those with psychiatric and neurological diseases, especially those with dementia. However, no screening for dementia and self-care burden was found among the elderly in Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to screen the dementia and self-care burden among elderly people.

Methods: The participants consisted of 127 elderly people who lived in Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai  Province. There were 70 participants who met the inclusion criteria. The Mini-Mental State Examination-Thai version 2002 (MMSE-Thai 2002) was used  to screen for dementia and the Instrumental Activities Of Daily Living (IADL) Scale was used for assessing the self-care burden among the participants.

Results: There were 70 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Most of the participants (60%) were 60-69 years old; the results from MMSE and IADL revealed that most of them (92.86%) had no risk of dementia and independency. The percentage of the risk of dementia among participants was 7.14%, while among this group 2.86% were dependent.

Conclusion: After the screening of dementia and self-care burden among the elderly in Mae Chan District,

Chiang Rai Province, 7.14 percent of the participants were at risk for dementia and 2.86 percent had dependent self-care burden which relatives or caregivers should recognize and provide close supervision.