Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will affect its sufferers as well as their caregiving spouses. Caring for a sufferer of AD is both stressful and highly demanding, and will impact the health of caregivers, especially when they are also elderly and when considering the cumulative effects of chronic, age-related illnesses and psychological decline. Moreover, elderly caregivers have the tendency to focus their attention on their Alzheimer’s suffering spouse and, consequently, to lose sight of their own health. All of this contributes to a vicious cycle which will eventually lead to a mediocre standard of living and increased frailty for the dyad (the caregiver-sufferer couple). Therefore, any intervention which is focused on the conservation or improvement of health and functional status for caregiving spouses of Alzheimer’s sufferers must be a priority, so as to maintain the autonomy and living standard of the dyad for as long as possible.

It has been reported that elderly persons are perfectly capable of evaluating their own health status through a self-administered program, and that they are also capable of accessing the digital version of this questionnaire on the Web, which opens up new prospects in relation to caregiver support and improvement of caregiver health.

• To promote the use of CESAM, a self-administered quality of life and health questionnaire for family caregivers, with caregivers of Alzheimer’s sufferers
• To enable them to evaluate their own health status
• To learn what primary frailty points to pay particularly close attention to
• To allow caregivers to benefit from care advice and recommendations, with the help of community partners

Various pilot projects were put in place with the Cummings and Evasion Centres

The caregiver support procedure for using CESAM and during the care and recommendation sessions was adjusted

The ACCEPT project was opened to caregivers, with the help of SARPAD and of the 5 counsellors of the Alzheimer Society of the Island of Montreal

A follow-up study relating to the use of CESAM was put in place within the Alzheimer Society of the Island of Montreal

Akinox Solutions Inc.

Cummings Centre, Montreal

Evasion Centre, Montreal

Services d’accompagnement et de répit aux personnes âgées à domicile (SARPAD)

Alzheimer Society of the Island of Montreal