Multimedia support for family caregivers of persons with dementia
Funded by the National Institute on Aging
Scientist(s):
Blair Irvine, PhD
,
Natasha Beauchamp, MSc
Dementia is more prevalent than one might think. One in twenty households in the United States reports caring for a person with substantial memory loss. Family members caring for a relative with dementia tend to suffer from a greater incidence of depression, physical health problems, poor health habits, greater anxiety, and increased family conflict. In addition, when compared with their noncaregiving peers, those who are employed report increased absenteeism and a greater need to quit their jobs or refuse promotions due to high family demands on their time. Despite the high stress of caring for an ailing relative, family members are notably hesitant to seek help from friends, relatives, or even social services.
Caregiver’s Friend: Dealing with Dementia is a multimedia Internet program designed to support family caregivers by means of information and useful tips. This program covers topics such as getting help, handling difficult situations, and coping with your own emotions. Materials are presented by onscreen video testimonials of caregivers describing the strategies they have found to be effective. (One viewer described the experience as a "video support group.") The program asks viewers to identify their care receiver’s phase of dementia and then tailors the material presented to match the care receiver’s level of memory loss. For those caring for persons with more-severe dementia, video dramatizations model techniques such as redirection and how to handle a care receiver’s extreme apathy, aggression, anxiety, or hallucinations. Tailoring also exists to personalize the program to present information appropriate for spouses (e.g., changing household duties, losing a companion, and handling finances) as opposed to information more appropriate for adult children, friends, or other relatives.
Caregiver’s Friend: Dealing with Dementia was evaluated in a randomized control trial with 334 employees through their employee assistance program or work-life balance programs. Participants were asked to complete a series of questions before starting the study. Half the employees were given access to the caregiver intervention right away, asked to answer the same questions immediately afterward, and asked for responses again 30 days later. The other half of the group were given access to the program a month later, after having answered the questions a second time.
Those who watched the program showed significant improvements in the areas of depression, caregiver strain, positive perceptions of caregiving, and intentions to access help. They also were able to identify more positive aspects of caregiving than those who had not seen the program, indicating a more balanced perception of what was good and what was stressful about their experience. In addition to health-promoting results, employees reported that the program was easy to use and more convenient than a support group because the Internet delivery provided as-needed access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
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