Assessment of caregiver's competence in dealing with the burden of caregiving for a dementia patient: a short sence of competence questionnaire (SSCQ) suitable for clinical practice.

Abstract

To the editor: Dementia is a burden not only for the patients who experience it but for their families as well. Thus, it is important to develop strategies to support relatives involved incaregiving. The first step in alleviating problems is recognizing them. However, nonprofessional caregivers rarely complain, and, therefore, general practitioners are often unaware of their problems. A concise instrument for assessing nonprofessional caregivers' problems could encourage practitioners to assess them.