Belewenisse van tuisversorgers van pasiënte met Alzheimer se siekte

English: The ageing of the population and the diminishing of subsidies to old aged homes has lead to the aged staying in the community and being cared for. The care and supervision of patients with a chronic condition such as Alzheimer's disease demands a great deal of time and is usually given by the same person. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the experiences of caregivers who care for patients with Alzheimer's Disease at home, as well as to describe the caring environment and the profile of the caregiver in order to develop guidelines that would·support these persons. This is a qualitative study with a quantitative component that is contextual with the purpose to explore and describe. The phenomenological approach is used in the study. Caregivers that meet with the following criteria were included in this study: Persons that are primarily responsible for the caregiving of patients who have been clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Afrikaans or English mother tongue speakers, enabling the researcher to easily understand the described experiences of the caregivers Ethical matters were discussed with the respondents before informed consent was obtained. Data collection was done in two phases. In phase I, the qualitative section, a phenomenological interview was done with the caregiver, in which a description of the experience as caregiver was given. In phase II, the qualitative component, a questionnaire was completed by the researcher, to establish the caregiving environment and the profile of the caregiver. A pilot study was done beforehand and no problems concerning the execution of the study were identified. Data collection was sustained until saturation of data was reached. Saturation was reached after nine interviews. A recording was made during. each interview and transcribed thereafter. The transcription of the interview was analysed by using a systematic process as explained by Tesch in Creswell (1994:155). The SAS-computer programme was used in the analyzing of the questionnaires. The scientific trustworthiness of the study was ensured by credibility, transferability, reliability and confirmability. It became clear during data analyzing and review of the literature that these caregivers had negative experiences of home care of Alzheimer's patients. Information obtained from the data and literature made it possible to compose guidelines for support to the caregivers. The guidelines focussed on emotional and practical assistance.