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From the Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Italy.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Adriano Chiò, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126 Torino, Italy; e-mail: achio{at}usa.net.
The authors evaluated the caregiver time for 70 patients with ALS. The mean number of caregivers per patient was 2.0 (SD 1.3). Caregiver time increased with worsening of disability (p = 0.0001). The most time-consuming duties were housekeeping, feeding, and toileting. With worsening of patients' disability, families relied increasingly on paid caregivers. Caregiver time is a hidden cost of ALS care and is a major burden for caregivers.
This work was partly supported by Ricerca Sanitaria Finalizzata, Regione Piemonte, 2004.
Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Received February 7, 2006. Accepted in final form May 4, 2006.
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