Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of people with dementia and their caregivers for the total population and differences between groups of access to assistive technology and telecare.a
| Total population n = 276 | Technology | P valueb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No n = 74 (26.5) | Yes n = 202 (73.5) | |||
| Age (years) | 82.1 ± 7.0 | 79.0 ± 6.4 | 83.3 ± 6.8 | < .001 |
| Age categories (years) | < .001 | |||
| 66–79 | 74.2 ± 3.6 | 39 (55.7) | 54 (26.7) | |
| 79–86 | 82.6 ± 2.0 | 25 (33.8) | 66 (32.7) | |
| 86–97 | 89.8 ± 2.3 | 10 (13.5) | 82 (40.6) | |
| Sex | .001 | |||
| Men | 103 (37.3) | 40 (54.1) | 63 (31.2) | |
| Women | 173 (62.7) | 34 (45.9) | 139 (68.8) | |
| Residency | .54 | |||
| Own flat/house | 264 (95.7) | 72 (97.3) | 192 (95.0) | |
| Residential home | 9 (3.3) | 1 (1.4) | 8 (4.0) | |
| Other | 3 (1.1) | 1 (1.4) | 2 (1.0) | |
| Cohabitation status | < .001 | |||
| Alone | 136 (49.3) | 12 (16.2) | 124 (61.4) | |
| Spouse/partner | 135 (48.9) | 60 (81.1) | 75 (37.1) | |
| Child | 5 (1.8) | 2 (2.7) | 3 (1.5) | |
| Municipality | .70 | |||
| A | 124 (44.9) | 36 (48.6) | 88 (43.6) | |
| B | 92 (33.3) | 24 (32.4) | 68 (33.7) | |
| C | 60 (21.7) | 14 (18.9) | 46 (22.8) | |
| Fall (yes) | 16 (5.8) | 2 (2.7) | 14 (6.9) | .30 |
| Fire (Yes) | 9 (3.3) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (4.5) | .14 |
| Number of diagnosis | 2.57 ± 1.70 | 2.61 ± 1.50 | 2.56 ± 1.77 | .39 |
| Type of dementia | .11 | |||
| Alzheimers disease | 101 (36.6) | 32 (43.2) | 69 (34.2) | |
| Vascular dementia | 11 (4.0) | 5 (6.8) | 6 (3.0) | |
| Lewy-Legene dementia | 3 (1.1) | 1 (1.4) | 2 (1.0) | |
| Frontotemporal dementia | 1 (0.4) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Mixed/unspecified dementia | 152 (55.1) | 32 (43.2) | 120 (59.4) | |
| Other types | 8 (2.9) | 3 (4.1) | 5 (2.5) | |
| IADL scorec | 19.9 ± 6.1 | 17.6 ± 6.4 | 20.8 ± 5.8 | < .001 |
| Telephone use | .01 | |||
| Operates by own initiative, looks up and dials numbers | 78 (29.2) | 30 (41.1) | 48 (24.7) | |
| Dials a few well-known numbers | 131 (49.1) | 29 (39.7) | 102 (52.6) | |
| Answers, but does not dial | 42 (15.7) | 9 (12.3) | 33 (17.0) | |
| Not in use | 14 (5.2) | 3 (4.1) | 11 (5.7) | |
| PADL scored | 10.3 ± 3.3 | 8.6 ± 0.4 | 11.0 ± 0.2 | < .001 |
| GMHR scoree | 2.8 ± 0.8 | 2.7 ± 0.8 | 2.9 ± 0.8 | .04 |
| MMSE-NR3scoref | 20.7 ± 3.8 | 21.1 ± 3.6 | 20.5 ± 3.8 | .21 |
| FAST scoreg | 4.2 ± 0.9 | 3.9 ± 0.9 | 4.3 ± 0.9 | < .001 |
| Severity of dementia index | .03 | |||
| Low (0 poeng) | 24 (8.70) | 14 (18.9) | 10 (5.0) | |
| Medium (1 poeng) | 99 (36.9) | 24 (32.4) | 75 (37.1) | |
| High (2 poeng) | 153 (55.4) | 36 (48.7) | 117 (57.9) | |
| Cg age (years) | 66.0 ± 12.4 | 72.5 ± 11.2 | 63.6 ± 11.0 | < .001 |
| 33—58 | 90 (53) | 10 (13.5) | 80 (40.8) | |
| 58—73 | 90 (65) | 24 (32.4) | 66 (33.7) | |
| 73—92 | 90 (80) | 40 (54.1) | 50 (25.5) | |
| CG sex | ||||
| Men | 176 (64.7) | 49 (66.2) | 127 (64.1) | .77 |
| Women | 96 (35.3) | 25 (33.8) | 71 (35.9) | |
| CG kinship | < .001 | |||
| Spouse | 117 (43.3) | 55 (74.3) | 62 (30.7) | |
| Sibling | 1 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.5) | |
| Child | 140 (51.6) | 15 (20.3) | 125 (63.3) | |
| Friend | 2 (0.7) | 1 (1.4) | 1 (0.5) | |
| Other | 11 (4.1) | 3 (4.1) | 8 (4.0) | |
| CG living with the person with dementia (yes) | 125 (46.3) | 58 (78.4) | 67 (34.2) | < .001 |
| CG`s contribution to care | < .001 | |||
| 1–20% | 12 (4.5) | 2 (2.7) | 10 (5.1) | |
| 21–40% | 27 (9.7) | 7 (9.5) | 20 (10.2) | |
| 41–60% | 44 (16.4) | 4 (5.4) | 40 (20.4) | |
| 61–80% | 48 (17.8) | 5 (6.8) | 43 (21.9) | |
| 81–100% | 139 (51.7) | 56 (75.7) | 83 (42.3) | |
aContinuous variables are presented as mean (± standard deviation) and categorical variables as numbers and percentages (%). Abbreviations: CG, caregiver; FAST, functional assessment scaling tool; GMHR, general medical health rating scale; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living; MMSE-NR3, Norwegian revised Mini Mental State Examination; PADL, personal activities of daily living
bDifferences between groups of technology (yes/no) were tested with independent samples t tests for normally distributed continuous variables, Mann–Whitney U test for nonnormally distributed continuous variables and Chi squared tests for categorical variables
cRange 8–31, measures 8 items for proxy assessment of use of telephone, shopping, economy, public transport and household; a high score indicates poor function
d range 6–30, measures 6 items 1–5 for proxy assessment of personal activities such as toileting, grooming, dressing, transfer and eating. A high score indicates poor function
eRange 1–4; 1– poor, 2 – moderate; 3 – good, 4 – excellent health
fRange 0–30, a higher score indicates more intact cognitive function
gRange 1–7, a high score indicates a high severity of dementia