The Behavior of Caregivers of Demented Adults, Depending on Cultural Background

In her new study, Dr. Miriam Bentwich from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University and her Ph.D. student Felix Kaplan investigated how a caregiver's cultural background affects their behavior insofar as the autonomy and dignity of older adults with dementia. The researchers undertook real-time observations of 29 caregivers from three cultural groups, Israeli-born Jews, Israeli Arabs, and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (IFSU), in three different nursing homes in Israel. The study yielded that there are differences in the behavior between the groups; IFSU caregivers demonstrated more respect for autonomy and dignity, specifically in the aspect of information provision and persuasion. This study-the first of its kind to focus on the real-time behaviors of caregivers from diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds, and the findings, may have important implications for caregiver training in multicultural societies.

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