Neurology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Correspondence:
Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Correspondence are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chiò, A.
Right arrow Articles by Mutani, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chiò, A.
Right arrow Articles by Mutani, R.
Related Collections
Right arrow All Health Services Research
Right arrow Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
NEUROLOGY 2006;67:902-904
© 2006 American Academy of Neurology


Brief Communications

Caregiver time use in ALS

A. Chiò, MD, A. Gauthier, PsyD, A. Vignola, PsyD, A. Calvo, MD, P. Ghiglione, E. Cavallo, MD, A. A. Terreni, MD and R. Mutani, MD

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.







HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.