Abstract

Background/Purpose: The burden of memory loss can affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for those with memory loss as well as for their informal caregivers. This study describes physical and mental HRQoL for both caregivers and their care recipients ’ and examines associations among physical and mental HRQoL and patient cognitive impairment. Methods: This descriptive study included 53 caregiver and patient dyads from an ongoing randomized control trial targeting caregivers of community-dwelling individuals with memory loss. All observations were assessed using standard measures. Caregivers were 75 % female, 84 % Caucasian, and on average 67 years old (SD=13). The average length of caregiving was four years (SD=3.7) and over half (56%) of the caregivers were spouses. SF-36 HRQoL scores can range from 0 (low HRQoL) to 100 (high HRQoL). Analysis included descriptive statistics and correlations. Results: Caregivers ’ physical HRQoL ranged from 8.6 to 68.2 (M=43.8, SD=12.7), and mental HRQoL from 13.2 to 69.1 (M=46.1, SD=14.4). Patients ’ physical HRQoL ranged from 20.2 to 59.2 (M=36.1,