Abstract: Objective To explore the current status of grief among the primary caregivers of Alzheimer′s patients and analyze its influence factors. Methods By convenience sampling method, primary caregivers of Alzheimer′s patients treated in the geriatric ward of Drum Tower Hospital from October 2018 to September 2019, were recruited and investigated by using Caregiver Grief Scale (simplified version), General Self-efficacy Scale, and Social Support Rating Scale. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the factors influencing the grief among the primary caregivers of elderly dementia patients. Results The total score of grief among the primary caregivers of 164 elderly patients with dementia was 63.74±10.75. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, age, education background, self-efficacy, social support, and the severity of disease and course of disease were factors influencing grief among the primary caregivers (P<0.05), accounting for 62.3% of the total variation. Conclusion The grief of primary caregivers of elderly dementia patients is in a high level. Gender, age, education level, self-efficacy, social support, severity and course of disease are the primary influencing factors of the caregivers′ grief. Nursing staff should take practical measures to improve the self-efficacy and social support for caregivers of Alzheimer′s patients, thus to alleviate their grief.

Key words: Alzheimer's disease, primary caregiver, grief, social support, self-efficacy