Perceived burden of dementia care, clinical, psychological and demographic characteristics of patients and primary caregivers in Iran.

Caregiving for dependent older adults with dementia has become an important public health issue. However, not much is known about the caregiver experience for caregivers of patients with dementia in Iran. This study was designed to examine the relationship between variables pertaining to primary caregivers and patients and the level of perceived caregiver burden. The participants of this cross-sectional study were 60 caregiver and care-recipient pairs presented to Rasoul-e Akram hospital and Brain and Cognition Clinic, in Tehran, Iran. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI), the General health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, T-test, and multiple linear regression analyses were used in this study. Years of caregiving, hours of caregiving/week, total and subscale GHQ-28 scores, existential well-being subscale score on SWBS, and total NPI score were found to be significantly associated with the level of caregiving burden (p < 0.05). In addition, among the caregivers' personality traits, neuroticism and agreeableness predicted caregiver burden. Other sociodemographic factors and MMSE scores were not found to be significantly related to caregiver burden. A better understanding of the indicators of caregiver burden can help physicians, policy makers, and mental health managers to tailor the most appropriate preventative and remedial interventions for family caregivers.

Validating the Persian version of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-specific quality of life-revised instrument.

Background: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Specific Quality of Life-Revised (ALSSQOL-R) encompasses 50 items which assess quality of life (QOL) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in six major domains. This study aims to translate the ALSSQOL-R into Persian and evaluate its reliability and validity among Iranian patients. Methods: ALSSQOL-R was translated by the standard multi-step forward-backward method. Content validity was calculated using item content validity index (I-CVI). Three items in the "intimacy" domain were deleted considering Iranian culture. Cronbach's alpha was used for all 6 dimensions to calculate the internal consistency reliability. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with one-month interval. Concurrent validity was measured by the validated version of 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Results: Sixty-three patients with ALS were enrolled in the study. I-CVI was 70%, promoted to 85% after modifications (acceptable). Regarding internal consistency reliability, Cronbach's alpha in all six domains was 0.70 and total Cronbach's alpha was 0.89 which is assumed as good. In terms of test-retest reliability, ICC [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 0.91 (91%) and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was 0.90 (P < 0.001), all indicating an excellent reliability. The concurrent validity was established based on a strong correlation with SF-36 (r = 0.744, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings show that the modified Persian version of ALSSQOL-R is a valid and reliable QOL questionnaire which can be used for Iranian patients with ALS in both clinical and research settings.

Facing COVID-19, Jumping From In-Person Training To Virtual Learning: A Review on Educational and Clinical Activities in a Neurology Department.

The new coronavirus virus 2019 (COVID-19) has affected many routine medical activities, including medical education and clinical activities. The social isolation has led to highlighting virtual learning and telemedicine. We present a report of our adoptive procedures taken during the outbreak of COVID-19 in our tertiary healthcare center and compare the current educational and clinical issues with these issues one month before the outbreak. Virtual learning is a useful replacement in this critical situation.