Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Strategies to Help Caregivers
A Program of Support and Education for Caregivers of Persons with Dementia
Karen M. Robinson, DNS, RN, CS, FAAN, University of Louisville School of Nursing, Louisville, KY, USA and Patricia Cerrito, PhD, School of Mathematics, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
Learning Objective #1: 1. Describe an innovative program of support and education for caregivers of persons with dementia based upon the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold (PLST) Model.
Learning Objective #2: 2. Evaluate the effects of the PLST intervention on dementia caregivers.
Caregiving for persons with dementia leads to multiple negative consequences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of psychoeducational interventions on dementia caregivers. This study describes an innovative program of support and education implemented in two phases. Phase I (N=55) provided respite only. Phase 2 (N=87) provided in-home caregiver training plus respite. To be eligible for the program the care recipient had to have a diagnosis of irreversible dementia and the caregiver had to be providing care at home. A total of 142 caregivers have been enrolled since the inception of the program. Family caregivers were white (85%), female (73%), married (78%), with 31% attaining a partial college educational level. Caregivers were spouses (57%), and adult children (30%) of the care recipient. A majority of care recipients were female (55%). Caregivers generally tended to not use services (49%) not attend support groups (80%). Only 20% had used adult daycare services. A volunteer to provide respite was the most frequently requested service (63%). Another 26% requested companion to visit with the person with dementia. The caregiver training was based upon the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold (PLST) conceptual model. The model posed that persons with dementia have a decreased ability to cope with stress resulting from progressive cerebral pathology and cognitive decline. During Phase 2 PLST training was provided to each caregiver in their own home over two sessions. Each caregiver was interviewed prior to the PLST intervention and again 6 months after the intervention. Kernel Density estimates indicated that when compared to Phase 1 caregivers at Time 2, caregivers in Phase 2: had more support (p<.05), tended to perceive fewer problem behaviors, and tended to be less upset by problem behaviors. Unmarried caregivers perceived more depressed behaviors in their care recipient (p<.05). Implications for caregivers will be identified.

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