Suchergebnisse

Pakistan is 1 of 5 countries with the highest projected increase in prevalence of dementia in the Asia Pacific region (Access Economic, 2006), where there is a lack of structured support network for caregivers in general and for dementia caregivers in specific. The caregivers and other related individuals predominantly rely on traditional familial support for caregiving. This approach places immense burdens on the familial caregivers (Shaji, 2009). In Pakistan, there is paucity of research evidence on care of patients with dementia and the needs of caregivers dealing with such patients. This study explores awareness among caregivers, their attitudes toward family members suffering from dementia, and their experience of burden. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 caregivers of patients diagnosed with dementia in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Pakistan. There was a considerable lack of awareness about dementia as an illness among the caregivers. They reported a conflict between emotional and religious commitments to nurture older adult relatives and their experience of psychological, physical, and economic burden, resulting in occasional episodes of carelessness and violence toward them. The study indicated that women, particularly those who were employed outside of the home, reported higher levels of stress. It is suggested that support from extended family in all forms was perceived as a concrete form of stress relief by the primary caregiver. The findings of this study indicate that the social and financial burden of dementia on families of caregivers in Pakistan may be exacerbated if they do not have support. This indicates a need for multipronged intervention from both government and nongovernment organizations, as well as the community, to develop programs for caregivers that are nested within the cultural context of filial piety in Pakistan. These strategies should also be gender sensitive, giving priority to more at-risk groups.

Abstract Background In Pakistan, preference for boys over girls is deeply culturally embedded. From birth, many women experience gendered disadvantages; less access to scarce resources, poorer health care, higher child mortality, limited education, less employment outside of the home and circumscribed autonomy. The prevalence of psychological morbidity is exceptionally high among women. We hypothesise that, among women of childbearing age, gender disadvantage is an independent risk factor for psychological morbidity Methods A cross-sectional catchment area survey of 525 women aged 18 to 35 years living in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The effect of gender disadvantage was assessed as a latent variable using structural equation modelling. Indicators were parental gender preference, low parental care, parental overprotection, limited education, early age at marriage, marital dissatisfaction and low autonomy. Psychological morbidity was assessed using the 20 item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). Results Gender disadvantage was independently predictive of psychological morbidity. Among married women, socio-economic status did not predict psychological morbidity, and the effect of education was mediated through gender disadvantage rather than socioeconomic status (SES). The women's own preference for a male child was strongly predicted by their perceptions of having been disadvantaged by their gender in their families of origin. Conclusions The high prevalence of psychological morbidity among women in Pakistan is concerning given recently reported strong associations with low birth weight and infant stunting. Social action, public policies and legislation are indicated to reduce culturally embedded preferences. Neglect of these fundamentals will entrench consequent inequities including gender bias in access to education, a key millennium development goal.

In the absence of indigenously developed valid measures to study constructs related to marriage and family in Pakistan, the most economical way is to translate and adapt an instrument that has already been validated in other cultures. The purpose of this study was to translate into Urdu language and pilot test a measure of dyadic relationship behavior, the California Inventory for Family Assessment (CIFA; Werner & Green, 1999-2008). Brislin's (1970) back translation method was employed. Our translation/backtranslation process is summarized in detail. Face validity and content validity were addressed by use of a committee of judges as well as by interviewing and pilot testing on 15 married couples. The translated version proved to be equivalent to the original version in semantic, idiomatic, experiential and conceptual domains. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients as well as inter-spouse validity correlations indicate that most constructs measured by CIFA were applicable in the cultural context of Pakistan. However, subscales with weak reliability and validity results in the pilot study need to be explored further to better understand their suitability for research in Pakistan.