Objective: What significance has the Internet as a source of information for family caregivers of dementia patients?
Methods: In Middle Franconia (Germany), 391 family caregivers were requested to participate in a questionnaire-based postal survey about the significance of the Internet and other sources of information on dementia. The family caregivers in question were the relatives of patients of the Memory Clinic at Erlangen University Psychiatric Hospital, members of the Alzheimer's Society of Middle Franconia or the Nuremberg Family Counselling Society.
Results: Younger and better-educated family caregivers more often own a computer with Internet access than older ones. The Internet is in 4th place on their list of sources of information. Although doctors are by far the most important source, counselling centres and literature are rated only just before the Internet.
Conclusions: The Internet is particularly significant for the younger better-educated family caregivers, independent of gender, as a source of information on the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.