Mantelzorg bij dementie en de kracht van sociale gezondheid

In this article, we describe the current state of affairs with respect to informal care for people with dementia. We focus on the impact of informal care on the caregiver, caregiving strategies and effective ways to support informal caregivers, including e-health and technological support. Informal care for people with dementia is intense and has consequences, both positive and negative: 78% of informal caregivers has good feelings about the care they give, but 15% feels heavily burdened. A stimulating and supportive approach creates a positive and safe environment. Person-centred interventions providing several types of support are most effective for people with dementia and their informal caregivers. E-health and technological interventions have favourable effects on trust, concern and depressive symptoms of informal caregivers. New interventions should focus more on social health: interactions between people with dementia and their informal caregivers and encouragement of both to use their abilities.