|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
An Educational Intervention to Support Caregivers of Elders With Dementia
Michelle Devor, MD, FACP*
and
Marian Renvall, MS
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mjdevor{at}san.rr.com.
 |
Abstract |
|---|
The majority of home-dwelling elders with dementia are cared for by family members or friends. Interventions to support community-based caregivers are needed. A community-based seminar series was provided to 300 self-referred family caregivers with dementia. Participants were surveyed for caregiver burden and overload and perceived competence before and 6 months after the seminars. In all, 88 (29%) of participants completed a 6-month survey. Self-perceived caregiver competence improved (3.9 ± 1.6 to 5.0 ± 0.32, P< .006); a trend toward improvement in caregiver overload, and there was no change in caregiver burden. Caregivers with baseline parameters indicative of higher burden, overload, or lower competence showed improved scores at 6 months. The educational program was effective in improving competence and may have slowed the expected increase in burden associated with caring for those with a progressive dementia. Caregivers with higher burden may be targeted for this type of intervention, as they seemed to benefit the most.
First published on March 25, 2008, doi:10.1177/1533317508315336
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias® 2008;23:233.
A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2008
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
|
|
