Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
An Online Program of Education for Caregivers in a Primary Care Clinic
Karen M. Robinson, DNS, APRN, BC, 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: Implement an online caregiver education program in a primary care clinic. |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold (PLST)Conceptual Framework and content of the educational program. |
The increasing prevalence of dementia among our older population makes it imperative that primary care clinics provide education to caregivers of persons with dementia. An estimated 49% of the population at age 85 has a diagnosis of dementia. Online technology to deliver caregiver education offers a cost effective alternative to provide this education. The purpose of this project was to implement an online caregiver education program in a primary care clinic. Those eligible for enrollment were family members of a person with a diagnosis of dementia in the primary care clinic. Following enrollment, caregivers were given training on how to access and use the training website. The online caregiver training program was based upon the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold Model (PLST). Content included definitions, stages of dementia, problem behaviors associated with dementia as well as management strategies, community resources and how to ask for help. Upon completion of the online training, evaluation occurred of format, accessibility, and presentation of training. The initial enrollment consisted of three men and 11 women (N=14) having a family member diagnosed with dementia in the primary care clinic. The initial sample, however, included only 10 caregivers who completed the training. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the caregiver’s level of knowledge, pre-training and post-training. All subjects demonstrated higher knowledge post training. Qualitative questions were used to determine level of accessibility, convenience, comfort, and usefulness to caregivers. Limitations included: two caregivers without a computer-(one caregiver was loaned a laptop during the study). Other caregivers did not have computer experience (N= 6). These findings begin to address the need for knowledge for family members caring for a person with dementia.