Cès, S.

Background: With the improvement of life expectancy, the world faces increasing demands for care of older persons. In this manuscript, we define the characteristics of primary informal caregivers (PIC) of patients aged 75 years and older admitted to geriatric day hospitals (GDH) in Belgium. A PIC is defined as the person who most often provides care and assistance to persons who need to be cared for.

Research into informal caregivers' burden does not distinguish between different stages of impairment. This study explored the determinants of burden from an in-depth perspective in order to identify which determinants apply to which phases of impairment.; Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including frail older persons aged 65 and above. Instruments used were the interRAI Home Care, the Zarit-12 interview and an ad hoc economic questionnaire.