Assessing trust and relationship quality in families with cognitively impaired family member

Background Relational factors play a critical role in the experience and outcomes of persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (AD+RD).Complex and bi‐directional association of relational factors and cognitive decline using the Postiive Affect Index‐ PAI in Spanish. Method Semi‐structured interviews were conducted for 20 dyads – 20 persons with dementia and 20 caregivers for total of 40 interviews. Patients were asked, “How did [caregiver] come to be your caregiver?”, and “What is their role when you go to the doctor and why do they play that role?”. Caregivers were asked, “How did you come to be the caregiver for [patient]?”; and “What is your role when they go to the doctor and why do you play that role?” Responses were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis to describe overarching themes in patient and caregiver responses.Patients were asked about the quality of their relationship with their caregiver, and caregivers were asked about the quality of their relationship with the patient. Items in the 5‐item questionnaire are evaluated using a 6‐point Likert scale (1 = not close to 6 = extremely close) examples are “How is communication between yourself and this person—how well can you exchange ideas or talk about things that really concern you?” and “Taking everything into consideration, how close do you feel in your relationship with this person?” The PAI was orally administered, with patients being asked about the quality of their relationship with their caregiver and caregivers being asked about the quality of their relationship with the patient. Relationship quality scores were compared between patient and caregiver and as they relate to trust. Results Conventional content analysis techniques were also used to identify and classify the existence and prevalence of factors for caregiver selection and to examine perceived roles and reasons for roles in the medical encounter. The data is derived from both the patient and caregiver perspective, and comparisons are made to determine whether and how accounts differ between patient and caregiver. Conclusion The findings help elucidate the role of patient‐caregiver‐physician relational factors in AD + RD care, experience, and trajectory specific to underserved Hispanic dyads