Information and preparation, the best allies for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients

• The Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela holds workshops three times a year and they last three and a half months.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that progressively affects the patient’s memory and cognitive functions, which in most cases results in emotional exhaustion for family members and loved ones who are caregivers, because the person suffering from it becomes increasingly dependent on their environment.

To help prepare the relatives of patients with this condition, regardless of the degree of progression of the disease, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela offers courses for caregivers.

“This is a disease that affects not only the patient, but mainly or even more so their family members because they are the ones who really deal with everything that the treatment entails, in addition to the emotional implications of memory loss,” explained Daniela Servitat, psychologist and coordinator of the caregiver course at the Alzheimer Foundation of Venezuela.

According to Servitat, the lack of support or care could put the patient’s life at risk, because he or she loses the ability to remember whether or not he or she has eaten; he or she forgets to take medication or, on the contrary, ingests more than the recommended dose, which puts his or her health at risk.

Photo: Freepik

Courses for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s

The course coordinator stressed the importance of understanding that information and preparation are one of the greatest tools that caregivers have to deal with the various difficulties of the disease.

“Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s or any other type of dementia is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. It’s a complex process in which the environment must be prepared in the best possible way to provide the accompaniment and support required,” said the representative of the non-governmental organization (NGO) in an interview for The Diary.

The expert explained that there is a previous step to taking the course as a caregiver for a person with Alzheimer’s: acceptance. This is because, in most cases, those who take the workshop are people with close relatives diagnosed with the pathology.

In her opinion, caregivers understand their role when they are aware of their relative’s cognitive decline and that their degree of dependency is progressively increasing.

“That moment (in which to accept taking the course as caregivers) is presented to each family in a very particular way. It is never too early to have training on how to help the patient, even if he or she still has a certain degree of independence because it is a progressive disease that has no cure,” added Daniela Servitat.

Photo: Alzheimer’s

Caregiver Course Details

The representative of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela explained that the course for caregivers is comprised of six modules, three of theory and three of practice, in which they are taught about healthy aging and aging with dementia or Alzheimer’s and the differences between the treatment for each of the patients.

In addition, the organization teaches within its theoretical framework about the different stages of the disease, what the symptoms are, cognitive stimulation, and how to keep patients mentally active.

The practical part explains how to keep the patient clean, how to prevent pressure ulcers or bedsores, how to support the patient in terms of nutrition and how to clean wounds. The course also includes a module on exercise and physical maintenance of the patient.

“All of these modules are taught by experienced specialists who help train caregivers with the sensitivity and ability to care for an Alzheimer’s patient,” he added.

It was learned that the courses for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela are held three times a year, lasting three and a half months each and costing approximately 100 dollars, at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela.

“We try to make the courses as affordable as possible so that we can continue to offer them. We (the foundation) provide all the theoretical material for the classes, but the student must bring the material for the practicals,” he said.

Servitat explained that the NGO offers a 32-hour internship period in geriatric institutions or in the foundation itself so that participants have the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge they have acquired.

Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela

To contact the NGO, you must call [phone] and [phone] or also send an email to the address [e-mail].

Alzheimer’s patients in Venezuela

The representative of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Venezuela said that the most recent figures they have on the number of patients with this disease in the country are from 2011, when the last census was carried out.

According to Servitat, at that time there were 120 thousand people with this pathology in Venezuela, however, the World Health Organization estimated in 2019 that by that year in Venezuela there were approximately 300 thousand patients with Alzheimer’s.

“This is really worrying because it represents more than double the official figures published in 2011 and this is a limitation for us as an organization,” the psychologist concluded.

Given the lack of knowledge of the real figures, Servitat urged relatives or potential future caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients to contact the foundation for support and training.

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