Volume 24, Issue 2 pp. 249-258
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Care needs assessment of older adults with dementia in a semi-rural district in Vietnam: A community-based cross-sectional study

Anh Ngoc Nguyen

Corresponding Author

Anh Ngoc Nguyen

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

Correspondence: Ms. Anh Ngoc Nguyen, MSc, Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Address: 1A Phuong Mai Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Binh Thanh Nguyen

Binh Thanh Nguyen

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Binh Thanh Nguyen

Binh Thanh Nguyen

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Binh Thi Thanh Nguyen

Binh Thi Thanh Nguyen

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Nguyet Thi Anh Nguyen

Nguyet Thi Anh Nguyen

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Nhung Thi Kim Dang

Nhung Thi Kim Dang

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Anh Thi Phuong Nguyen

Anh Thi Phuong Nguyen

National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Anh Trung Nguyen

Anh Trung Nguyen

Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam

National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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Thang Pham

Thang Pham

National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

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William Guntars Mantyh

William Guntars Mantyh

Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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Duyen Tran

Duyen Tran

Department of Neurology, University of California, Sacramento, California, USA

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Oanh Thi Phương Le

Oanh Thi Phương Le

Department of Neurology, University of California, Sacramento, California, USA

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Van My Ta Park

Van My Ta Park

Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

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First published: 28 December 2023
Citations: 1

Abstract

Background

The increasing needs of people living with dementia (PLWD) in Vietnam present an enormous public health challenge. Vietnam is an understudied country, and little is known regarding the overall unmet needs of caregivers or the demographic risk factors associated with unmet caregiving needs. This study aimed to determine the burden of unmet care needs of community-dwelling PLWD and identify sociodemographic risks associated with unmet care needs.

Methods

A cross-sectional study in a rural area facing urbanisation in Hanoi, Vietnam recruited PWLD-caregiver dyads with multistage sampling. We utilised the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) instrument to evaluate care needs across four domains. Caregivers rated PLWD needs, with higher scores indicating greater unmet needs. The Mann–Whitney test was employed for comparing two groups, while the Kruskal–Wallis test was used for comparisons involving more than two groups in the analysis, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Among 90 PLWD participating in the study, the overall mean care needs score was 11.6 ± 4.3, with only 16.2% of PLWD having their care needs met. Environmental and physical needs were more frequently met than psychological or social needs. Only 48.0% and 43.9% of environmental and physical needs were met respectively, and a meagre 20.9% and 23.6% for psychological and social needs. Unmet care needs were more frequent for PWLD who were female, single or divorced, had lower monthly household income, or who were in more advanced stages of dementia, as indicated by Clinical Dementia Rating scores ≥1.

Conclusions

Unmet needs for PWLD are common. Increased caregiver education, resources, and services in Vietnam are urgently required to improve the quality of life for this population.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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